Hope and Despair: The Prequel
by TheAmbitiousOne
Summary: Introducing Ryu, son of Son Goku, the earth's strongest warrior. His life was peaceful, until he was kidnapped by his evil, alien uncle. After that day, he became a strong, proud warrior of the Z-Fighters, and he's been fighting alongside them to defeat any threats to planet earth. An evil tyrant, androids, a bio-android; None of them is stopping Ryu from protecting his home!
1. The Beginning of the Beginning

Thank you for taking the time to read this crappy fanfic series, for whatever reason you chose to. Enjoy reading.

Disclaimer: All rights go to their respectful owners.

* * *

In the midst of a forest, a young boy with a hat and a ball with four red stars walked around, lost and terrified. Accompanying him was his older brother, who wore the same outfit as him, minus the strange ball. The young boy had glazed white hair, and his curious, blue eyes absorbed everything around him. His younger brother dashed our at the sight of an elegant butterfly, so he followed to make sure his younger brother wasn't completely alone in the large forest.

The young boy stopped behind his brother, seeing he had tried to climb the tree the butterfly stood upon, but failed. The young boy tried, but slipped down. He looked upwards, watching the butterfly gaze down at him in amusement. The young boy, determined, tried once more to climb up, sliding up inch by inch. The butterfly flew away as the young boy neared it, and the sudden movement surprised the boy, making him fall down to the ground. Tears settled up on the boy's eyes as pain swirled in his back, but he ignored his pain, standing back up and dusting himself off. His younger brother gave him a somber look, and he gave him a reassuring pat on the back.

"We'll be back home soon, Gohan. We just need to look around a bit more!" The young boy reassured his little brother.

"But what if we're stuck here forever, Ryu?" Gohan replied pessimistically. Ryu didn't reply, instead he lead the way, holding his little brother's hand.

As they continued on, Gohan hard rusting in bushes nearby. After a few moments out creeping towards the bush nervously, a wolf jumped out, crawling towards the two young boys menacingly. Ryu's mind raced, but, fortunately, Gohan leg on his back, playing dead. Ryu did the same, falling face first onto the ground. To his horror, the wolf was more interested in Gohan. Ryu heard the wolf growl, then run off. Ryu jumped up, running towards Gohan, and, to his relief, he was unharmed. The wolf had only took his hat.

Gohan, in a fit of rage, sorrow and panic, dashed after the wolf, and chased it far away from Ryu's eyesight. Ryu, panicked, dashed after him. He heard Gohan scream, and he came to the end of a party. Ryu's eyes widened in fear, and he glanced around, trying to see if there was any way for him to get down safely. Seeing only the hard way, he moved slowly, climbing down the large cliff. His arms and legs were sore, but he wouldn't rest until he found Gohan.

As he was climbing down, his right foot slipped, and that caused his entire body to fall off balance. Ryu tried to regain himself, but in a heartbeat he was falling. Ryu's body went limp, just waiting for the moment of intense pain, but a voice spoke in his head.

 _ **Boy, you don't have the luxury of death just yet. Save yourself, I refuse to be kept inside such a weak child.**_ The voice growled.

"W-who are you?" Ryu glanced around in even more panic.

 ** _Have this tiny gift of power in exchange for a show... A show of how your life will be played out._** A tingle of strength swam inside Ryu, and his pupils slit. Ryu glanced at the wall full of earth but to, and he got an idea. It was going to hurt, but he couldn't think of anything else.

 _For Gohan... For Gohan. For Gohan!_ With a sharp inhale, Ryu smashed his hand and feet onto the wall next to him, his hand searing with pain, and his shoes starting to get damaged. Before he knew it, he slowed to a stop, and he began to climb downwards once more. The reached the ground soon afterwards, and he hopped down. He patted the dust off his hands and clothes, and the glanced upwards.

"Thank you." Ryu murmured to whoever had helped him. Determination sketched across his face, and he searched for his younger brother.

As Ryu searched around, he heard Gohan yelping. His ears twitched as he strained to hear him, and he ran in the direction of his voice. When he finally saw Gohan, he saw him for a split second before he fell down a watwrfall. Without thinking, he leapt down the waterfall fearlessly, and he landed in the arms of a man in orange and blue.

"Ryu? Why're you here? Where's Gohan? Why're your eyes different?" The man threw an avalanche of questions at Ryu. Ryu's pupils shrunk back to normal, and his eyes closed softly. After using so much energy at once drained him.

* * *

Ryu's eyes fluttered open, and he recognized his surroundings as his room. He slipped off his bed, rubbing his eyes, then his thoughts hit him. He ran outside his room, glancing around wearily, and saw Gohan being scolded by their mother, Chichi, for going out alone. Ryu tackled Gohan with a hug, tears welling up in his eyes.

"I thought you died." Ryu said shakily.

" Me, too... " Gohan replied. Ryu smiled, but his smile faded when Chichi cleared her throat, staring down at the two boys menacingly.

"You, young man, are very lucky. If you didn't have to go with Goku you'd be in for a treat!" Chichi growled, then nodded her head away, giving the two permission to leave. They readied themselves, and their Goku walked out shortly.

"Don't be gone too long, dinner will be ready later." Chichi ordeted, and Goku nodded. He stepped outside, inhaling.

" NIMBUS! " Goku shouted. Moments later, a small yellow cloud came. Goku jumped on, and Gohan leapt into his lap. Ryu climbed up onto Goku's back, wrapping his arms around his neck, and they shot off. Moments later, they arrived at an island, with a house on it.

Goku jumped down, Ryu on his back and Gohan in his arms, and the two of them hopped down. A blue-haired woman, an elderly man, and a bald, short man walked out, welcoming Goku, then worked past the fact that someone like Goku had two children. Goku leaned forward, whispering something, then the the strangers gave Ryu sympathetic glances, to his confusion.

"I'm Master Roshi, nice to meet you. I trained Goku at one point, helped him become as strong as he is now. Maybe one day I'll be training you, too." Master Roshi nodded.

"I'm Bulma! I'm sure you've heard of me. I'm Goku's first friend, meaning I faced death on multiple occasions first." Bulma said, shuddering at past, bad memories.

"I'm Krillin, proud to be Goku's best friend. One time I was just as strong as him, but now his strength is as crazy as he is." Krillin said, and Goku frowned, causing laughter.

The three adults talked and caught up on old times, but they were interrupted by a sudden appearance from a tall man with long, spiky hair flew in strange armor, a green machine on the left side of his face.

"I've finally found you, Kakarot. What're you doing? Have you forgotten your mission?!" The stranger barked.

""Kakarot"? "Mission"? I think you got the wrong guy!" Goku replied, genuinely confused.

"Don't play stupid! If you've really forgotten, I'll have to make you remember!" The man growled, and Krillin gave him a cold look.

"Listen, pal, you shouldn't pick a fight with Goku. He'll send you into-" Krillin started, but the stranger slapped him with his tail, sending Krillin crashing into Kame House. Goku's eyes widened in terror, but he relaxed, seeing Krillin's arm twitch. Goku spun around to face Krillin's attacker.

"Why'd you attack Krillin? Just who are you?!" Goku asked.

"You really don't remember me? Fine, I'll tell you. I'm Raditz, and I'm your brother." Raditz answered, earning multiple surprised glances and gasps. Goku looked doubtful, so Master Roshi reluctantly stepped forward, explaining how Goku fell and hit his head when he was a child, which resulted in him forgetting everything about himself, including his personality, which changed from hostile to friendly.

"Kakarot, you are from an alien-like race called the Saiyans, the greatest and strongest race to have ever lived. We've-" Raditz started, then he was silent for a few moments, his eyes scanning Goku in shock and surprise. "What the hell happened to your tail, Kakarot?!"

"I cut it off, someone said it was dangerous. Why?" Goku replied.

"No, you fool, do you understand what you've done?! You've lost your special ability to transform, you idiot!" Raditz shook his head angrily. Goku's eyes slid to the right, glancing at Ryu and Gohan, frozen in terror and confusion. Raditz looked over at what Goku did, and he saw the two children. He noticed Gohan's tail, and his scouter beeped, showing Ryu's power level, and it was 113, way too high for a normal human child. He stomped over to the two, picking up Gohan in his left hand and Ryu in his left, and held on tight, despite their wiggling.

"You've chosen to reproduce with a non-Saiyan!? That's despicable!" Raditz growled. "Okay, Kakarot... You have until tomorrow to bring me 100 people, dead, and your children live. If you refuse to cooperate, I'll kill them, and destroy this planet you were ordered to do when you arrived here."

"Put them-" Goku started, lunging at his brother. Raditz lifted his knee, and rammed it into Goku's stomach harshly. Goku stumbled to the ground, the attack so devastating Goku could barely breath.

"DADDY!" Gohan screamed. Ryu punched at Raditz's waist, but Raditz ignored them both, and he flew off.

Gohan continued to wail, and Ryu continued to fight, so Raditz stopped mid-air, lifting the two away from him.

"I could drop you both right here, right now, and that'd be the end of it for you both." Raditz threatened. Ryu glared at him.

"But you won't." Ryu barked back, still struggling. Raditz grinned.

"I like you, kid. Why don't you join me? I could make you strong, far stronger than your father and possibly even me! You have potential, the potential to be something other than a house pet to these pathetic creatures." Raditz persuaded smoothly.

"If being a house pet means I don't have to do anything evil to people who don't deserve it, then I'll just stay a house pet the rest of my life!" Ryu squeaked, punching at Raditz. Raditz huffed a sigh, and he continued on.

Soon, he arrived at where he first landed, and sat Ryu and Gohan down nearby. Gohan's crying didn't cease, and Ryu kept jumping up in an attempt to stop him, throwing weak kicks at him. Raditz had enough, and kicked Ryu away harshly. Ryu struggled to get back up, but he was lifted off the ground, and was thrown into the space pod Raditz traveled in alongside Gohan. Gohan knocked on the machine a few times, but Raditz ignored him. Ryu jumped, dropkicking the metal to try and break it, but failed.

Moments later, they heard people talking, recognizing the voices to be Raditz, Goku, and another deep voice. Gohan and Ryu shouted when they heard their father, trying to let him know where they were, but it was futile. Gohan started crying at the sound of Goku screaming in pain, and Ryu clenched his tiny fists, punching the door, but he just hurt himself in the process. He heard Goku give a high-pitched squeal, and something inside of him snapped.

He felt his body get hot, and he blinked several times. His eyes turned golden, then slid upwards, only showing the whites of his eyes, and they began to glow as energy skyrocketed through his body, swirling around him. Gohan suddenly jumped up, high, breaking their prison, and he flipped to the battlefield, with Ryu moving out of a white vortex next to Gohan. Gohan cried, and he dashed at Raditz quickly. Ryu sent a volley of bright white spears around Raditz, limiting him of any sort movement, or else he would suffer. Before Raditz could react properly, he received a powerful headbutt to the chest. He stumbled backwards, and Gohan fell down to the ground, all the sudden power he had disappearing quickly. Raditz, enraged, sent Gohan rolling on the ground with a quick chop to the back of his head, and that knocked him unconscious.

Ryu's desire to end all the suffering increased as his power did, and he charged back at Raditz. Raditz blocked a surprisingly strong punch, then kicked Ryu away. He followed after him, mashing his knee into his back as Ryu went sent flying again, and with a swift elbow to his neck, Ryu's eyes returned to their golden color, then their light blue color, and he fell down to the ground, his eyes closing softly as his body shut down.

* * *

Ryu jumped up, water splashing around him as he tried to open his eyes, but they were instinctively shut closed. Water dripped off his face as his eyes fluttered open, and he scanned his surroundings in panic.

"Listen up. You two need to make a choice.." A deep voice growled, and Ryu glanced around, looking at a tall, green monster. His eyes popped around him, and he located Gohan nearby, water dripping off his hair, and Ryu slid over to him, making sure he was okay and hugging him.

"In a year, two Saiyans are going to come, like the one that took you away from your father. I'll give you two a choice. I can either take you back to... "Kame House", or I can train you here and make you strong." The monster explained, and looked at Gohan and Ryu for an answer. Gohan's face had his answer written all over it, and a strong anger was written on Ryu's face. He glanced to his right, then glared up at the monster fearlessly. The monster gave a small smile.

"You know, I sense that you're different from your brother, from your father, from me... Me training you could awaken that light inside you. My name is Piccolo. What is your answer?" Piccolo smiled softly. Ryu's eyes narrowed, feeling something strange radiating from Piccolo.

He was lying. Ryu felt pure evil inside of Piccolo.

"No thanks. You'll probably just take the light inside of me and turn it into darkness, just like the darkness inside you. Take me back to my father." Ryu responded, and Piccolo grinned.

"He's dead." Piccolo said bluntly, and Ryu's heart stopped momentarily. He heard Gohan weeping, and Piccolo's smug voice, but all of that soon was blocked out as Ryu felt alone, truly alone. His eyes teared up, but he forced himself to calm down. He sighed shakily, then glared back up at Piccolo, a fierce glare for someone so young and weak.

"Fine, I'll train under you. But I'm not going to become consumed by darkness." Ryu said, and Piccolo couldn't help but smile at his sudden maturity with light and darkness. Gohan glanced down, uncertain, but seeing the fervent ambitiousness, he nodded slowly.

"I'll join you! We'll be unstoppable together." Gohan smiled. Piccolo levitated upwards, preparing to fly off.

"We'll start by seeing if you both truly are worthy enough for me to train you. If you can survive on your own for 3 months, I'll come back, and we'll begin your actual training." Piccolo explained, and before Ryu and Gohan could protest, he was gone.


	2. Training!

Disclaimer: All rights go to their respectful owners.

* * *

After three gruesome, torturous months of learning to survive on their own, Piccolo levitated down to Gohan and Ryu, who were enjoying a dinosaur they killed off. Ryu stood up slowly, bowing slightly to welcome his mentor. Piccolo's leg was a blur as he kicked Ryu, and Ryu hit the ground hard. Gohan tried to help Ryu up, but Piccolo punched him harshly, his face crashing down onto the dirt. Ryu jumped back up quickly, throwing an off-target punch at Piccolo, who didn't even move as Ryu missed. Piccolo grabbed Ryu's left arm, held it behind his back, and he held energy orb behind his head.

"You're too trusting. I could've been someone in disguise, I could've changed my mind and come here to kill both of you. First lesson: Never trust anyone completely. Always have your guard up. Always be aware, careful, and ready for anything." Piccolo explained, and Ryu gave a curt nod. Piccolo shoved him away, and Ryu stumbled forwards. Gohan was dusting himself off, and he looked up at Piccolo, excitement shimmering in his eyes.

"Are you going to teach us hand-to-hand combat now, Mr. Piccolo?" Gohan asked, and Piccolo shook his head.

"The next step will be energy manipulation, if you can't pull this off, then you're worthless in combat. This will help you for defense, offense, and other tactical and useful abilities you'd need." Piccolo said, and he created an orb of his energy in the palm of his right hand. "Manifest some of your energy into the palm of your hand. You should be feeling something exit you, and hold it. Use too much, you'll get tired. Use all of it, you're dead."

Ryu extended both of his hands, and he closed his eyes softly. At first he didn't feel anything, but then he felt like he was being pushed by a strong wave. His eyes opened, and he saw a blue energy surrounding him, going down a long, long path. Ryu reached out to his right, getting a handful of the energy, and he ripped it out of the path it was following.

Ryu's eyes popped open at a sudden electrical jolt, and he saw a large blue ball in his hand. He looked around warily, then looked at Piccolo for any sort of praise, but all Piccolo did was nod. He looked at Gohan, but he was having more trouble. Piccolo turned back to Ryu.

"Now, Ryu, extend your energy away from you, and throw it at me." Piccolo ordered, and Ryu nodded slowly. Ryu slowly detached the energy from his hand, and threw it at Piccolo. As soon as he moved away from Ryu's fingertips, it quickly disappeared from sight. Piccolo shook his head in disappointment.

"You need to continue to feed the energy blast while it's away from you, if you don't it won't maintain it's structure as it just did." Piccolo said, and Ryu exhaled sharply.

 _Maintain it's form when I can't even come in contact with it? How do I do that...?_ Ryu thought. He slowly made another energy blast in his hand, and he tried to throw it again, but he got the same result. The next time, he used a large amount of energy, and threw it upwards, watching as it disappeared into nothingness, but this time it took longer. Ryu's eyes twitched as he thought about what he just analyzed.

 _Is the key to use more energy? No, if I did use more I'd drain myself even quicker. So is the weight? No, that'd make it harder to throw, harder to use for offense. So then...?_ Ryu thought, his mind racing with questions he didn't have the answer to.

He felt some sort of heat nearby, and he saw Gohan made a sphere of energy. Piccolo told him to throw it at him, and to Ryu's surprise Gohan threw it at Piccolo. The sphere exploded on contact with Piccolo, and he stumbled backwards, then dusted himself off. Gohan smiled triumphantly, and Ryu stepped over to him.

"How did you managed to release it from you? Using too much weight would make it drop to the ground, not using enough would make it disappear, using too much would only shorten the amount of time it had until it disappeared, using-" Ryu started, but Gohan spoke up.

"You're thinking about it too much, it's a just do it kind of thing. You overanalyze things." Gohan explained, and Ryu nodded.

Ryu felt someone behind him, and Piccolo kicked him away, Ryu skidding on the ground. He stood up weakly, just to get punched back down. Piccolo kicked him again, and Ryu fell on his back, blood dripping from his mouth. He saw another kick coming, so, instinctively, he rolled to the left, then kicked Piccolo side. Piccolo kicked him away, then chased after him. Ryu regained himself quickly, created an energy orb in his hand, and he threw it at Piccolo, but it didn't faze him. Piccolo threw a kick at Ryu, but Ryu jumped backwards, and he shot an energy beam at Piccolo. The beam made contact with him, and Piccolo went down on one knee. Piccolo stood back up, and he nodded approvingly at them both.

"You both successfully learned how to manipulate your energy, we can get deeper into it another time. Rest for a bit, then you'll learn how to fly using your energy." Piccolo said, and he began to walk off.

 _He attacks me out of the blue, then he just walks off like it never happened?_ Ryu thought, then sat down, rubbing his left shoulder, as it ached from his mini battle. _Maybe coming here was a mistake. I sure do miss Mother..._

* * *

After a breather, Piccolo was back at it again, and he was levitating in front of Ryu and Gohan.

"Do any of you know how I'm levitating?" Piccolo asked. Gohan shook his head immediately, and he felt some sort of heat radiating under Piccolo, like it was holding him upwards.

"You're using energy to make a road to walk on?" Ryu guessed, and Piccolo shook his head.

"I'm using my energy, yes, but I'm using it to push me upwards. Radiate energy below you, and use it as if you were trying to hold your energy, except the energy is going to be doing the carrying." Piccolo ordered, and Gohan and Ryu nodded.

Ryu made an energy orb, then he moved it back into him. He began to release some of his energy through his feet, and he began to levitate. As soon as he felt he was starting to get the hang of flying, he lost control, and he crashed into a large boulder behind him. He rubbed the back of his head, then stood up, trying again. He used more energy, and that gave him more control. He span around, then he jumped up while he was in the air.

 _Wow..._ Ryu thought, going higher and higher. _...I'm flying._

He slowly moved back down, and as he did, Gohan was moving upwards, a grin on his face. Ryu landed, then he watched as Gohan slowly levitated downwards, and landed next to him. Piccolo nodded approvingly.

"Not the best I've seen, but it'll have to do. Now we're going to move to hand-to-hand combat. Take a break." Piccolo walked off once more, and Ryu sat down on the ground, looking at the sky.

"Ever wonder if mom's okay?" Gohan asked, sitting next to him. Ryu nodded. Gohan lowered his head, mumbling, "I miss mom."

"We'll be back with her before you know it." Ryu patted his younger brother's shoulder.

"I hope so." Gohan sighed.

 _Me, too._ Ryu thought.

* * *

After a few moments, Ryu and Gohan were back at it again with Piccolo.

"When your fighting an opponent, show no mercy, but show respect, even if they're the scum of the earth." Piccolo explained. "There's different reasons for why people fight. Some fight because they enjoy it. Some people fight to protect. Some people have to live every single day of their life fighting. The reason as to why you fight will be your motivation and your prpose. First, tell me the reason you want to fight."

"I'm going to fight to protect, and to be strong, just like my dad!" Gohan said immediately. Ryu lowered his head in thought.

"I don't have a reason to fight. Yet." Ryu answered. Piccolo's eyes twitched in disappointment.

"Then you mean nothing to me. A man like you fighting just because... I don't need that." Piccolo growled.

"I can't just train to fight and I suddenly have a reason to. I need to experience it. Maybe, just maybe after this battle with the incoming Saiyans, I'll find a reason to." Ryu retorted, and Piccolo stared at him for a while. Piccolo nodded shortly, then he told Ryu and Gohan to stand up. Piccolo crouched into a stance.

"I want you to do what I do. Copy my movements in your own style." Piccolo barked, and the two children nodded, getting in a stance too. Piccolo threw a punch, and Gohan and Ryu copied him. Piccolo brought his fist back, then threw another with his other fist. Ryu and Gohan copied him. Piccolo continued this cycle, and Ryu and Gohan continued to copy him.

Piccolo stopped after a while, and ordered both of the children to do pushups. Ryu, surprised he even knew what those were, nodded hesitantly, dropping to his hand. He did five, then stood back up, seeing Gohan copy him. Piccolo told them to do more. Ryu dropped to his hands, doing another five, then stood back up, His arms already searing in pain.

Piccolo told him to continue all day long, alongside Gohan. Ryu met his limit at 35, then Piccolo glared at him in disappointment.

"If you had a reason to fight, a reason to continue, this would be easier for you." Piccolo growled, nodding at Gohan, who kept at it, greeting his teeth and squeezing his eyes shut as he struggled on. Ryu stared at his younger brother with pride, then smiled softly.

"I have my reason now." Ryu murmured softly. Piccolo nodded his head once, doubt his eyes as he stepped back. Ryu exhaled sharply, then went back on his hands. He did ten more, then paused, his breath shaky. He felt weight above his head as it was crushed onto the ground under him.

"What did I tell you? You're worthless to me. You're a warrior with potential with no drive." Piccolo barked. Ryu lifted himself back up onto a pushup stance slowly, surprising Piccolo as he raised his head as Piccolo used his weight to try to weigh him down. Ryu glared up at Piccolo with golden eyes, then continued his pushups shaky. Gohan had paused to watch in shock.

 _I don't know what's happening. I feel weightless, stronger... But I don't really care. Maybe it's a adrenaline boost. I just need to get stronger... To protect Gohan and my family._ Ryu thought.

"That's enough." Piccolo ordered, and Ryu stopped. His eyes returned to their icu blue color, and he felt an immense weight on his arms and legs. Piccolo's eyes twitched in confusion, but he didn't question the manner.

"Take a break. We'll be back at it in a few minutes." Piccolo said, and the two children nodded.

* * *

A month had passed, and Ryu and Gohan learned everything necessary to become warriors. They began to spar with Piccolo daily, and Piccolo grunted as he punched as Gohan and Ryu as if they were flies.

Gohan kicked at the back of Piccolo's right leg, and Piccolo feel down into his right knee. Ryu threw a punch, but Piccolo grabbed him, throwing him at Gohan. The two children rolled in a ball of wailing, then recovered themselves.

Ryu jumped back at Piccolo, and he flew face-first into Piccolo's knee. Piccolo extended his arm to grab Gohan, but Ryu grabbed his arm, and threw him over his shoulder with sheer strength. Piccolo regained himself, then kicked Gohan away from him. Piccolo jumped to his left to avoid getting hit by Ryu, and he threw Ryu into Gohan, the two falling down to the ground.

Piccolo wiped sweat off his forehead with his, and stared in surprise at the two children panting below him.

* * *

Piccolo blocked a kick to the right side of his head from Ryu, and jumped back to dodge an energy blast Ryu shot. He charged up his energy, and stuck his middle and index finger on his forehead as electricity buzzed around him. Gohan charged up energy in both of his hands as he raised them to his forehead.

"Makankosappo!" Piccolo barked, and shot a swirling, purple-yellow spiraling beabeam at the two children.

"Masenko!" Gohan cried, thrusting his hand forward as a beam of golden energy shot at Piccolo, and the two beams clashed, Piccolo's attack slowly overpowering Gohan's. Ryu dashed towards Piccolo, energy radiating in his right hand. He stopped right next to his mentor, and sat his hand on Piccolo's chest before he could react.

"Konton Taiho. (Chaos Cannon)" Ryu shot a large blast of energy at Piccolo, and the beam completely consumed Piccolo. The beam died shortly, and Ryu was sent flying to his right at a sharp kick to his waist.

 _H-he managed to dodge a point-blank blast? His instincts were stronger than my speed. I need to be quicker!_ Ryu thought. But the fight ended as Piccolo held sharpened nails at Ryu's neck.

"Your strategy was good, but you need to work on your speed. Gohan, stop relying on Ryu to end the fight and help more. We're done for the day." Piccolo barked, then walked off. Ryu sighed, and Gohan sat down, both of them exhausted.

* * *

Ryu and Gohan are both sleeping peacefully near a fire they made. Piccolo walked base them, crouching down on his knees. He reached his hand out, hesitating, confused on the emotions the was feeling.

He felt affection.

He rubbed the two children's heads slowly, then snapped his hand back, staring at it in confusion. He stood up, and walked off.

The only sound remaining was the cracking of the fire that was set aflame upon wood.


	3. The Battle Against The Saiyans, Part 1

Disclaimer: All rights go to their respected owners.

* * *

Gohan, who now wore purple gi with a red sash around his waist and armbands, bronze grass shoes, a white collar around his neck, and a white bandana, Ryu, who wore similar clothes, except his gi was white and it had short sleeves, his sash and armbands were blue, his shoes were golden, and he wore his white collar so it was covering his mouth, and Piccolo froze as they felt two strong energies crash down onto earth.

"Looks like they're finally here." Piccolo growled.

"If they're here, that means my dad should be here soon!" Gohan grinned.

"We can't depend on him to do everything. He's not here, so we'll have to fight without him." Piccolo barked back, and the two children nodded slowly. The three of them began to travel to the Saiyans, but they stopped as they felt their energy coming top them. Piccolo grinned as he spoke, "This is good. We won't have to waste any of our energy going to them."

After a few moments, Krillin flinched at the sight of Piccolo, but calmed himself down, waving awkwardly. Gohan smiled at the sight off a comrade coming.

The reunion was put on hold as the Saiyans arrived, and they levitated down to the four's level, both of them grinning and smirking confidently. Their scouters beeped as they read their opponent's power levels, and their cocky expressions only grew from the sight.

"Well, Vegeta, looks like the purple brat's one of ours, and the green guy is Namekian. The shortie is a strong human, and the other brat's... Is one of ours, I think." The taller Saiyan said.

"Yes, I know, Nappa. Listen up, peasants. We're looking for the Dragon Balls, so all you need to do is help us out. If you dare to defy us, we'll kill you all." Vegeta spoke up, but Piccolo was too surprised to respond. After a few moments of him getting his thoughts together, he grinned, and slid into a stance.

"We're not gonna tell you anything. Yes, I'm Namekian, but this is my planet now. We're not here to bow down to your orders, we're here to fight!" Piccolo barked.

"Oh well. Say, Vegeta, can I fight 'em?" Nappa asked.

"Why waste our energy on these clowns? Get some Saibamen to do it." Vegeta ordered. Nappa didn't bother to hide his disappointment, but obeyed his orders. Green, plant-like creatures dug up from the ground that their seeds were planned into, and they screeched, grinning. Two creatures leapt at Piccolo, but were knocked back by a tall man with a third eye on his forehead and a short man.

"Tien! Chiaotzu! It's about time you showed up here." Krillin greeted the two, and Tien nodded, glancing over to Gohan and Ryu.

"Those are Goku's kids?" Tien asked, and Krillin nodded, then explained that the two of them were trained by Piccolo. Tien shook his head sympathetically, then something blurred next to Krillin. A man in orange turned around with a smirk.

"Am I late?" The man grinned, looking back at his opponents.

"Just in time for the fun. We're about to get to it, and having you here is an advantage, Yamcha." Krillin replied, sliding into a stance.

"We'll let the Saibamen kill you one by one. Who's up first?" Nappa grinned.

"I'll go ahead and get this fight over with. These guys don't look like much of a challenge. " Yamcha walked forward confidently. A Saibaman walked forward, too, and the two slid into their stances. Vegeta crossed his arms and sat on a rock as he watched.

The Saibaman charged at Yamcha, the two fighting in hand-to-hand combat as the Saibaman tried to claw his way into Yamcha. The Saibaman lunged forward in an attempt to grab Yamcha, but Yamcha jumped up, flying upwards, away from his enemy. The Saibaman chased him, throwing a punch at his enemy, and Yamcha countered it with one of his own. The two off them blurred, then disappeared from sight. Ryu's eyes widened in surprise, then grew glanced around wearily.

"I can't see them!" Gohan panicked, showing he was having the same issue as Ryu was.

"Concentrate your energy to his and use your energy to see, not your vision." Piccolo explained. Ryu stared at him in confusion, then shook his head slowly, closing his eyes softly.

After a few heartbeats, everything surrounding Ryu slowed to a stop, and everything darkened until he was standing alone in complete darkness. He felt a heat nearby, and he opened his eyes, hearing an exchange of blows in front of him. Ryu extended his hand, and he touched the heat, then closed his eyes again.

Ryu's eyes opened slowly, and he watched in awe as he was able to keep up with Yamcha and the Saibaman's battle as they moved around so quickly it was as if they were teleporting.

"I can see them!" Gohan squeaked with pride, showing the achieved the same results as Ryu. Piccolo nodded in approval.

The Saibaman shot an energy beam at Yamcha, and Yamcha jumped to the left to dodge it. As he did, he was in the path of the Saibaman, and he was elbowed down. Yamcha regained himself on the ground, but the Saibaman wrapped his arms and legs around him, grinning. Yamcha struggled to break free, and the Saibaman glowed. Yamcha's eyes widened, and the two exploded, smoke covering both of them. As the smoke cleared, Yamcha was seen lying in a small crater, not moving a muscle. The Saibaman was completely eradicated.

"He's..." Krillin stuttered, tears forming in his eyes, to the two Saiyans' amusement

"Dead." Piccolo finished, seeing no one would step up and face reality. Ryu flinched, panicked.

 _Those monsters were able to kill Yamcha so quickly... Are there really such bad people out there? And how can we beat those two if one of ours died fighting only one monster?_ Ryu thought, clenching his tiny fists.

Suddenly, Krillin let loose a scream of pure rage, and he stuck out his hands to his sides. His comrades stepped back as they watched in surprise as Krillin charged energy in the palms of both of his hands.

"His power is increasing!?" Vegeta muttered, shocked. Krillin pushed his hands together in front of him, a golden energy ball radiating in his hands.

"Kaku...!" Krillin started, and a large beam shot at the Saibamen.

"Saibamen, run! Dodge it!" Nappa ordered.

"No, withstand it!" Vegeta ordered.

Some Saibamen raised their hands to their face to block the attack, some tried to fly away, and some froze, unsureof which order to follow.

" _Sandan!_ " Krilling raised his hands, and the beam curved upwards, shooting toasts the sky. Krillin dropped his hands downwards, and the beam divided into multiple beams, destroying each and every Saibamen. Vegeta sighed in irritation, and Nappa's eyes brightened with excitement.

"Hey, Vegeta, is it okay if I play with them now?" Nappa asked. Vegeta rolled his eyes.

"Sure, but leave the Namekian alive. We need him for the Dragon Balls." Vegeta ordered. Nappa grinned, and, without wasting a second, he charged at his opponents faster than they could react.

In a split second, Nappa chopped his hand down, watching as a hand flopped down to the ground with a grin. Tien lifted what was left of his left arm, screaming in agony. Chiaotzu, enraged, landed a kick to Nappa's back, but it only tripped him. He whacked Chiaotzu's head downwards with a punch, then sent him flying with a kick. Krillin kicked Nappa's chin upwards, and delivered two quick jaba to his stomach, though it didn't faze Nappa at all.

"Come on, you can't be this weak! This is so disappointing!" Nappa grinned, sending Krillin flying by hitting him with his right wrist. Nappa turned around, and he received a harsh punch to his stomach by Piccolo, then he was thrown to a rocky pillar. Piccolo dashed at him, but stumbled back by a harsh headbutt. Nappa brought his fist back to punch Piccolo, then froze, Vegeta's order replaying in his head. Chiaotzu saw an opening, so he dashed at Nappa, then clutched onto his back tightly. Nappa tried to grab him, but he couldn't reach him. Chiaotzu began to glow dimly.

"I can't get him off of me!" Nappa glanced at Vegeta for his input on his situation.

"Crush him into the rocks surrounding you. He'll get off of you then, I'm sure." Vegeta offered lazily, and Nappa took Vegeta's advice, crashing Chiaotzu into the walls of large boulders and pillars surrounding him. Despite the pain, Chiaotzu held on tight, glowing even brighter, his eyes glowing blue. Nappa flew above a mountain with a sharp edge, and grinned, dashing downwards, with Chiaotzu closing in on death by the second. Chiaotzu looked at Tien's pitiful face, and he smiled softly, mouthing something. His eyes flashed bright blue, and he exploded. Tien's eyes widened, and he grit his teeth and clenched his fists in frustration.

Tien roared in rage, his voice screaming across the entire area, wind shooting around as his energy increased dramatically. He held up his remaining hand in a half triangle-like shape, huffing in determined concentration. He aimed his hand at Nappa. His eyes dimmed as he poured all of his energy into his hand, and he grit his teeth as his muscles strained at the massive amount of energy he was using.

"Ki..." Tien started, inhaled sharply, then groaned. His groan turned into a cry, then a scream. " _ **KOHOU!**_ "

A square like ki blast shot at Nappa, and it hit him, causing an explosion of raw energy, smoke surrounding him. The smoke cleared momentarily, and a cocky grin was shown. Nappa was completely unharmed, although his armor was broken from the attack.

"D-Damn it... I'm sorry, Chiaotzu.. I just wasn't... Strong enough... " Tien fell down onto the ground, his eyes falling softly. Nappa levitated to the ground, and looked at Krillin, Piccolo, Ryu, and Gohan each, letting them know fighting him was a mistake. Gohan covered his mouth in shock, and Ryu's eyes were wet, on the verge of tears. Piccolo glared at Ryu and Gohan.

"Quiet down, he died his pointless death. We couldn't fight Nappa while Chiaotzu was holding onto him without risking hurting him, and Tien used all of his energy. Their deaths were suicide and the cowardly way out." Piccolo growled. Krillin glared at him, but didn't say anything.

 _I trained so hard... But I'm too scared to do anything. This is all pointless..._ Ryu thought, clenching his fists. Nappa started walking towards the two children and Piccolo, but froze when he heard Krillin scream, a large golden disk swirling above him.

"Come on, let's see what you can do, human!" Nappa grinned, sliding into a stance.

" _KIENZAN!_ " Krillin cried, reared backwards, and threw the attack at Nappa. Nappa intended to grab it, but Vegeta barked, "That'll cut you in half!"

Nappa bent backwards, and the attack only grazed his cut a large chunk of a pillar off with ease, and Nappa gave another grin.

"Damn it!" Krillin mumbled. Nappa dashed towards Krillin, throwing a punch that Krillin dodged, then Nappa landed a kick to his neck, his grin widening as he heard a snap. Krillin screamed, and rolled away on the ground, his neck broken. He tried to stand up again, but pain shot through his body, and he slumped down till the ground.

"That's enough watching now. He should be tired from fighting, and we have an advantage in numbers. Let's go." Piccolo ordered, and shot towards Nappa, Gohan instinctively following. Ryu was frozen in his spot. Vegeta's scouter beeped, and he glanced at Nappa.

"I just got a power level of 5,000, I'm sure that's Kakarot. No more games. Kill everyone, including the Namek, and we' ll go to Planet Namek and get their Dragon Balls before he comes. He'll be nothing but terrible, unnecessary trouble. " Vegeta ordered, and Nappa nodded with a grin.

Piccolo landed a kick on Nappa's shoulder, and they both started fighting in hand-to-hand combat. Nappa jumped back to dodge a punch, but he was kicked in the face by Gohan, and he crashed into a wall. Nappa stood back up, but Piccolo wrapped his arm around him seven times, and crashed him into another wall. Nappa stood back up slowly, and he had enough already. He charged up his energy in his left hand, and his energy surrounded his entire body. His eyes slid over to Ryu, who was still frozen, and, with a yell, he extended his hand towards Ryu, a devastatingly large energy beam shooting towards him.

Ryu's eyes widened in surprise and fear, and, despite his entire body telling him to move, he couldn't. He clenched his eyes shut, leaning to his side, but his legs are stuck in place. Just as he accepted his fate, he heard a howl of pain, ans he saw Piccolo, taking the full blast of the attack. Piccolo fell onto his back slowly, and Ryu and Gohan surrounded him, trying to get him to hold on until Goku arrived. Nappa was out of breath, and he was trying to regain as much before he had to fight again. Piccolo's eyes dulled, and even though his breathing was slowing to a stop, he spoke to the two children, mainly Ryu, who was silent, but tears were flooding down his face.

"I know you're scared... I understand that. But you've got... To overcome that fear. I saw it in you when we first met. You have the potential to be strong, Ryu, so don't let anything hold you back. Including yourself.I thank you both for the times we've shared, and I thank you... For being my friend." Piccolo smiled weakly, a tear streaming down his eye. Gohan cried, and Ryu's eyes widened once more, trembling in panic. Piccolo closed his eyes softly, and he was gone.

Everything around Ryu darkened away, and the only thing left was a large cage in front of him. Ryu watched as his tears streamed down to the water below his feet.

 _ **You're back so soon, hm...? I'll lend you my power once more, this time a bit more. Enjoy...**_ A beast beyond the cage growled, and a strange, thick chakra swam inside Ryu, and Ryu's heart stopped.

Back in reality, a strange energy exploded around Ryu, and his arms began to look slightly scaly, his fingernails sharpening into claw-like daggers. Ryu's sclera turned black, along with his eyes, then they turned red, and slit into straight, blazing red lines. Pure white energy surrounded Ryu, and it turned into a coat of energy, a tail popping up at his rear. His eyes focused onto Nappa.

"You wanna play, kid? Don't cry if I play a bit too rough." Nappa grinned.

Ryu's fingernails sharpened once more, his eyes widening, and he charged towards Nappa, a blur as he punched Nappa's chest, making him stumble backwards. Nappa instinctively kicked him away, and Gohan snapped, energy radiating in his hands. He shot an energy beam at Nappa, and it hit him, sending him flying. Ryu charged at Nappa once more, and he slapped him away with a large hand made out of energy. Nappa shot back at Ryu, headbutting him down as Ryu's face hit against the ground. Ryu's tail changed into a hand, and it punched Nappa to a pillar, and Ryu shot towards, kicking him through. Ryu dodged a kick from Nappa, then blocked a punch with his tail, then grabbed Nappa, and slammed him around the ground and mountains. The fist of strange energy enlarged into a large hand, and slammed down onto Nappa. Nappa rose once the large hand moved back to Ryu, and he charged his previous attack once more.

"I've had enough! I'm killing you, and I won't let anyone protect you this time, either!" Nappa cried, throwing a slightly smaller energy blast. Ryu did a strange hand seal, then inhaled.

"Bipou: Bisuto no Sakebi. (Tailed Beast Art: Beast's Cry)" Ryu spewed a wide and long stream of energy at Nappa's blast, and it engulfed it, and engulfed Nappa, too. Nappa slowly dissolved from the massive amount of heat from the attack.

Ryu's eyes returned to their icy blue state, then dulled, and he fell down to his knees, then he fell face-first. His eyes slowly closed, and he fainted.


	4. The Battle Against the Saiyans, Part 2

Disclaimer: All rights go to their respected owners.

* * *

Ryu's eyes slowly opened, and he was looking down at a large lake. He looked up, and he saw he was being held by Krillin, with Gohan right next to him. His eyes slowly closed once more.

Ryu heard an ear-piercing scream, and he recognized the voice as his father's. He heard him scream again, and he moved off of Krillin, levitating next to him, glancing in the direction of his father.

"Something wrong?" Krillin asked.

"There's something going on with my dad, I heard it. I heard him screaming. I'm going to go back and check it out." Ryu explained, but before he could dash off, Krillin grabbed him.

"We shouldn't run back to Goku where we can just get in his way. He told us to go back home, so we should listen to him. Maybe your thoughts are just messing with you. Goku'll be fine, he always is." Krillin tried to reason, but Ryu shook his head.

"I can't just leave him. I don't want to kill anyone else." Ryu broke free from Krillin's grasp, and he flew off towards Goku. Krillin groaned in frustration, but when Gohan shot off after him, Krillin followed the two children. After a few moments, they arrived at the battlefield once more, and they saw a bloody, beaten Goku lying on the ground in front of Vegeta, who had transformed into a huge, ape-like beast. Krillin snapped his fingers as he thought of a tactic.

"All we gotta do is cut off his tail. If you guys can distract him, I can cut off his tail with my Kienzan. I know it's really risky, but it's the best plan I've got." Krillin explained. Ryu was hesitant, but he overcame his fear and nodded. Gohan nodded as well, and Krillin nodded back. The two children shot off in front of Vegeta, and Krillin flew on a pillar behind him.

"What's this? The two brats have come to save their half-dead father? Why, this is all too good." Vegeta grinned, watching as Gohan carried Goku over to a pillar with amusement, and his amusement skyrocketed as Ryu slowly slid into a stance. "You don't seriously think you can beat me?"

 _Piccolo-sensei,_ Ryu thought, sweat dripping off his face as his heart pumped fearfully. _I'm going to make you proud!_

Ryu shot to his left to dodge a massive punch from Vegeta, then he shot upwards to dodge a large slap. Ryu charged energy in his hand, then shot a beam of energy at Vegeta's arm, and it caused him to stumble backwards, his eyes widening with surprise. Ryu shot another beam at Vegeta's left knee, and that caused Vegeta to fall to his knee. Ryu charged up his energy in both of his hands, and he shot a large blast of energy at Vegeta's face, and he caused him to crash down on his back. Vegeta shot his tail at Ryu, and it wrapped around him tightly, then slammed down onto the ground, then again, and numerous more times. Ryu managed to slip free, and he shot upwards once more, and he saw Gohan thrust his arms forwards, a golden beam shooting towards Vegeta, who was just standing up again.

"Masenko!" Gohan cried as the attack landed on Vegeta, and Vegeta jumped to the left to dodge it.

"Kienzan!" Krillin bellowed as he threw a large, golden disk at Vegeta, but the beast simply jumped over the attack. Moments later, a figure was seen dashing towards Vegeta, and he drew out his sword, cutting off Vegeta's tail easily, and dashed back into hiding.

"Nice one, Yajirobe!" Krillin grinned as he watched Vegeta transform back into his regular form, his eyes strained with pure rage. Ryu flew over to Goku, his expression changing to a somber one as he realized Goku was in too much agony to utter a single word.

 _Guys, listen..._ Ryu heard Goku suddenly speak in his head. _Right now, I can't fight Vegeta. Earth's fate is now in your hands. You guys have to defeat Vegeta right here and right now! I know you guys can stop him, together. Go show him not to underestimate Earth!_

Ryu glanced at Vegeta, and sharply exhaled as he saw him snap his head around in search for the man who cut off his tail. Ryu glanced at his younger brother, and he whispered to him, "I have a technique I made. It's nothing too special, but it's not gonna tickle. I need to charge up my energy for it, though, so I need you and Krillin to distract him some more."

"Okay! Just leave it to us." Gohan gave a confident smile, and Ryu smiled softly, the two of them standing up. Gohan shot off towards Vegeta.

Ryu jumped off the pillar he stood on, and he charged up his energy. He moved his energy to his left hand, and blue energy swirled around in the palm of his hand. Ryu moved his hand in front of him, extending it forward, and he waited for Vegeta to be in a spot he liked, charging up more energy as he did so. Vegeta leapt backwards to dodge a punch from Gohan and a kick from Krillin, and Ryu's eyes narrowed as he waited for Vegeta be in alignment with him. Sweat dripped off his face, and as it dropped against the ground, the moment arrived.

"Hikari Taiho. (Light Cannon) " Ryu shot a golden, bright beam at Vegeta, and it crashed into Vegeta's back, sending him flying into a boulder with the blast, and the blast exploded once it made contact with the boulder, smoke clouding around Vegeta.

A blur shot out of the smoke, and Ryu felt something crash into his stomach, his eyes dulling as pain shot through his entire body. Ryu doubled over, clutching his stomach in pain from the blow Vegeta gave him, and Vegeta kicked his face harshly, Ryu falling backwards. Vegeta threw his foot down to stomp on Ryu, but Ryu rolled over to his right, and jumped far away from Vegeta. Gohan dashed at Vegeta, but he was kicked away effortlessly. Ryu shot an energy blast at Vegeta, then jumped to his left to dodge it as Vegeta whacked it back towards him. Ryu shot towards Vegeta, and he punched his head downwards, but he was kicked away, then Vegeta elbowed him to the ground. Vegeta held an orb of energy in his hand, and he nearly killed Ryu with it, but he stopped as he heard someone.

"What're you waitin' for?! Throw it already, before the kid gets mauled!" Yajirobe shouted, and Vegeta snapped his head towards Krillin, seeing he was holding a strange orb of energy in his hand.

"Thanks a lot- Spirit Bomb! " Krillin threw the blast at Vegeta. Vegeta jumped up, and as he did, the attack was heading straight for Ryu.

 _Ryu! You have to bounce the attack back at Vegeta. Don't worry,_ _it won't hurt you. Just toss it back in Vegeta's direction!_ Ryu heard Goku speak in his head. Ryu jumped up, readying himself for the attack. He extended his hands, grabbing the attack, and he threw it upwards effortlessly. Vegeta glanced below him, his eyes widening as the bright attack neared him, and as it made contact with him, it exploded, a colorful light enveloping him. Vegeta crashed to the ground, and Krillin slowly moved over him, sighing. Vegeta's eye popped open, and he punched Krillin away.

 _How... How is this guy still **alive?!** He shouldn't be able to still fight! _Ryu thought, but Vegeta stood up once more, spitting blood onto the ground. Gohan dashed at him to continued to fight, but Vegeta dodged his punch easily, despite his injuries. Ryu shot towards him to fight, but Vegeta just punched him in the stomach again, hard, and blood spilled out of Ryu's mouth. He tried to stand up once more, but he felt someone wrong in his side. Pain shot through his body as he tried to stand up, and he flopped back to the ground, blood pouring out of his mouth. Vegeta kicked Ryu away, and Ryu crashed against a pillar, nothing but intense, hot pain shooting through his body. He felt himself fall to the ground, then his eyes dulled at the pain he felt. He started to feel numb, and his eyes drooped, softly closing as he lost consciousness.

* * *

Ryu's eyes slowly opened, and he looked around, then he looked up to see the face of his mother, Chichi. Ryu closed his eyes slowly once more, and he listened on the conversation the adults around him were having.

From what he heard, Vegeta was defeated, but Goku let him off the hook. Since Piccolo had died, they wouldn't be able to get the Dragon Balls and revive everyone, since Piccolo was the darker half of Kami, the creator of the Dragon Balls, and since Piccolo died, Kami died, which meant the Dragon Balls were unable to be used. Krillin brought up a place called Planet Namek, a place the Saiyans had mentioned, and the Saiyans mentioned that there were Dragon Balls there. After a few moments, Master Roshi arrived with some Senzu Beans, which were supernatural beans that healed wounds and it made you full for 10 days straight. He gave one to each of the hospitalized boys, and Krillin, Gohan, and Ryu were back to full strength. Goku suffered injuries too severe to be completely healed by just Senzu, so he was still hospitalized.

As the team were talking about how to get to Planet Namek, a black, strange-looking creature on a flying carpet came to window, and introduced himself as Mr. Popo. He explained that he knew where a spaceship was, and that spaceship could take them to Planet Namek. Mr. Popo took Bulma with him, and the two of them left for the spaceship.

Within hours, Bulma and Mr. Popo arrived, and they had the spaceship up and running. Krillin, Gohan, and Ryu, much to Chichi's disappointment, were all going with Bulma to Planet Namek, and they were going to take a few weeks to prepare.

After they took all the time they needed to prepare, they group was ready for departure. Gohan had his hair cut in a bowl cut, and Ryu just had his hair in a cleaner, spikier hair-do. The four of them boarded the ship, and after a few final goodbyes, they shot off towards Planet Namek.


	5. Planet Namek

Disclaimer: All rights go to their respected owners.

* * *

In mere weeks, Ryu, Gohan, Krillin, and Bulma all arrived at Planet Namek. Before they arrived on Planet Namek, they bumped into a group of strangers, and the group warned them of Frieza, to be careful not to run into him because he was a mad tyrant who would do anything to get what he wanted: the Dragon Balls, and immortality. They did their best to follow that warning, but they needed the Dragon Balls, too, and Gohan, Krillin, and Ryu were watching Frieza and his two henchmen, Dodoria and Zarbon, harassing a tribe of Namekians for a Dragon Ball.

"Uh, can somebody tell me just why we're watching a mad tyrant who could kill us effortlessly?" Krillin barked quietly to the two children next to him. Ryu shrugged, and the two looked at Gohan.

"There's a dragon ball here; it says so on the Radar. We have to wait for Frieza to leave so we can take it." Gohan said, and Krillin nodded reluctantly.

As they watched on, Frieza had Dodoria slowly kill each Namekian, except for an elderly Namekian, who was the only one with the knowledge of where the Dragon Ball was. Gohan nearly leapt at Frieza when he ordered Dodoria to kill his children, but Ryu held him down.

"Hey- Do you really want to take him on? I know you sensed his energy, he'll crush you in a split second. Calm down, we don't like this anymore than you do, but we have to wait. If we wait patiently, we can get the Dragon Ball, resurrect everyone, and stop him so no more Namekians have to die. Or we can challenge him here, die in the process, and leave him to roam the universe and kill even more people." Ryu reasoned. Gohan crouched back down reluctantly.

Dodoria had shot an energy beam at one of the young Namekians, and it killed one of them, the other holding his brother in tears. Gohan lost it, and he dashed to the battlefield, kicking Dodoria hard in his face.

"Goddamn it, Gohan!" Krillin dashed after Gohan, and Ryu, with a sigh, dashed after them.

Krillin had grabbed the remaining Namekian child, and he was blasting off quickly. Ryu and Gohan charged up energy in the palms of their hands, and they shot a large beam of golden, raw energy in their hands as they cried, " _Masenko!_ ".

The blast hit Dodoria, and it dust shot up, covering the three of them as they fled.

"This sucks! We didn't even get the Dragon Ball like we came to do." Krillin sighed.

"We saved some lives." Gohan countered.

"Life. And more people are gonna die now that we don't have the Dragon Ball. We should've followed the original plan, the one you came up with in the first place!" Ryu retorted.

"Why do you need the Dragon Ball?" The young Namek asked, glancing at the three fretfully.

"To wish our friends back to life." Krillin answered.

"And stop Frieza!" Gohan added, although Krillin gave a doubtful look.

After a few moments, the four arrived back at their hideout, where Bulma was sitting on a rock. Gohan handed her the the Dragon Radar, and as he did, it picked up on a dragon ball in a lake nearby.

"Guys, I'm gonna go take Dende back to his home with some other Namekian named Guru. Don't get killed." Krillin blasted off, holding Dende in his arms.

"Hey, Gohan, Ryu, there's a dragon ball over there. Go get it." Bulma told the two children, and they nodded, grabbing the Dragon Radar and shooting towards the Dragon Ball.

After a few, long moments, the two children retrieved the Dragon Ball in a lake, and shot back towards Bulma. But as they were, they saw Vegeta. Ryu grabbed Gohan, and shot over to a mini island to hide, hiding their energy. Unfortunately, Vegeta was still able to detect them, and he stood above the island.

"You've got until I count to 3 to come out and face me! One!" Vegeta started, holding an orb of energy in his hand. "Two!" The energy orb radiating into a bigger, more powerful blast. "Th-"

"Wait!" Ryu jumped out of his hiding spot, giving Gohan the Dragon Ball. Vegeta smirked at the sight of his former opponent.

"Well, well! I sense that you're stronger than last time. I respect that, always stay strong. But what are you doing here, so far away from Earth?" Vegeta levitated down to Ryu's level.

"That's none of your business." Ryu snapped. Vegeta grinned, and his eye caught hold off the Dragon Radar.

"What's that?"

"That's none of your business."

"I can kill you right here and now without any consequences, you know."

"So I should bow down and kiss your boots? No thank you."

Vegeta grinned, and he stroked Ryu's hair. "You know, I really like you. You have potential to a great warrior. You show no fear when staring danger in the face. I won't kill you, but if you dare get in my way, I won't hesitate to kill you. I'll let you off with a warning." Vegeta clutched onto Ryu's head, and kneed his stomach, hard. Ryu's heart thumped twice in his ears, and he felt a hot, burning pain in his side, and he slumped to the ground, his eyes dulling. Vegeta grinned, and blasted off.

Gohan jumped up to Ryu, his eyes widening in fear, and he moved his hand to Ryu's chest, letting out a relieved sigh when he felt his heart beating. Gohan gave Ryu a small blast of energy, and Ryu's eyes glowed back to life. He rubbed his side, then stood up, mumbling thanks to his younger brother. The two of them shot back to Bulma, and informed her of everything that happened.

Krillin arrived back momentarily, and he explained everything that happened, mainly talking about Guru, who had the ability to unleash people's hidden potential, and that's exactly what he did for Krillin. Krillin blasted off once more, this time Gohan and Ryu following him, leading the way to Guru's home. As he was, the three of them felt an explosion of power charging straight towards them, and Gohan explained to Krillin it was probably Vegeta, and he figured out they stole a Dragon Ball that was most likely his. Ryu, who had brought the Dragon Ball with them, gave it to Krillin, and Krillin told the two children to get their potential unleashed with the little Namekian, who's name was Dende, and that he would stall for time.

Ryu and Gohan landed in front of Dende, and Dende lead them through another Namekian. They went down an elevator-like machine, and they were face-to-face to a large Namekian, who was named Guru.

"Dende? Who've you brought with you?" Guru asked, and Dende explained everything.

Guru called Gohan forward, and he released his hidden potential, his power rising quickly. Guru called for Ryu, and Ryu stepped forward. Guru sat his hand on Ryu's head, and Ryu felt a box inside him open up. His eyes flashed white momentarily as power exploded within him, and he stepped back. He didn't feel stronger, he felt older, smarter, like he aged ten moreyears. He turned around, and he stepped outside, alongside Gohan, and faced an enraged Vegeta.

"Where. Is. It?!" Vegeta barked.

"Like we'd tell you.", Gohan growled and Ryu was quick to get in his fighting stance. Vegeta shook his head wildly.

"No, you don't understand! If you want to live you have to give me the dragon ball so I can wish for immortality! Don't you feel that strong energy?! We have no chance for survival at this rate! I need to be immortal, it's our only chance!" Vegeta explained. Ryu relaxed slowly.

"Dende told us that this dragon can grant three wishes, so we'll wish for immortality for Vegeta and we'll revive our friends with the remaining wishes." Krillin decided, and Vegeta nodded desperately. The four of them shot off towards where Vegeta managed to get the rest of the Dragon Balls, and Vegeta revealed all six Dragon Balls, then glared at the three with the remaining Dragon Ball.

"We're not giving it to you. We'll defeat you right here, take your dragon balls, and wish our friends back to life." Ryu revealed, and Vegeta's face wrenched with anger.

"You _IDIOTS!_ Now's not the time to be fooling around! Give it to me or I'll kill you and take it myself!" Vegeta roared, but it was futile. 5 warriors in Saiyan armor appeared in front of the four quickly

"B... Break it. BREAK IT! _Smash it!_ Throw it far away from here!" Vegeta ordered. Krillin attempted to break the dragon ball with his bare hand, but it vanished out of his hands before he could even try. A blue, tall alien held the Dragon Ball in his hand, and he handed it to the tall, purple alien, who was using telekinesis to make all seven Dragon Balls float around him. All five of the strange creatures striked strange poses in unison.

"I'm Burter!"

"I'm Recoome!"

"I'm Guldo!"

"I'm Jeice!"

"And I'm Ginyu!"

" Together, we are.. " All five of them spun around, striking another pose. " **The GINYU FORCE!** "

"You've finally arrived. Took you long enough." Vegeta smirked nervously.

"You guys deal with these guys. I will carry out the mission!" Ginyu flew off, the Dragon Balls levitating next to him. Vegeta started after him, but Burter got in his way.

"Sorry, but you're needed here, Prince." Burter smirked. Vegeta flew back down, scowling.

"I'll get Vegeta!" The remaining members of the Ginyu Force barked. They did a match of rock-paper-scissors to settle things, and Recoome won. Guldo stepped forward to get the "trash", which was Gohan, Krillin, and Ryu, since he was the runner-up in the game. Ryu pleaded to fight Guldo alone, and Krillin reluctantly allowed it.

 _My blood is pumping with energy and excitement. Maybe it's the Saiyan DNA ... Either way, I'm going to put it to good use and start fighting my own battles. It'll help me improve, and become the best fighter I can be._ Ryu stepped forward slowly, his fervent gaze boring into Guldo. Guldo crouched into a stance lazily, and Ryu slowly did the same.

Time seemed to slow down as the two leapt.


	6. Z-Fighters versus The Ginyu Force

Disclaimer: All rights go to their respected owners.

* * *

Ryu dodged a kick from Guldo, grabbed a fist, and dodged multiple punches and kicks easily. Guldo jumped back, frustrated art the surprisingly high level of skill the boy had at such a young age.

"I'll end this quickly for you. I'll pull out my trump card!" Guldo bent his hands forward, and started charging up his energy. Ryu saw his chance, and jumped at Guldo, uppercutting his stomach, then kneed it, elbowed it, and kicked him upwards. Guldo regained himself midair, and spat blood on the ground.

"You're gonna need more power than that if you wanna a chance at survival, kid." Guldo slid into his stance once more. Sweat dropped off Ryu's cheek, then Ryu vanished.

Ryu reappeared, then vanished again. He reappeared once more, multiple Ryus surrounding Guldo. He vanished one last time, and then dozens of dozens of Ryus span around Guldo. Guldo's eyes dashed around, squinting in concentration, then he shot a blast of energy to his left, and Ryu levitated upwards, barely dodging the attack. Guldo, using sheer speed, appeared behind Ryu, kicking him upwards harshly. Guldo appeared above Ryu, trying to kick him down, but Ryu blocked the attack, shooting back downwards. Ryu flipped, landing on the ground, the jumped back up at Guldo, the two engaging in a lightning-quick close combat battle. Ryu landed a punch, missed a kick, and dodged a punch, elbowing Guldo's arm downwards.

Guldo, enraged, front-flipped once, and mashed his right foot's heel into the back of Ryu's head, stopped him from crashing downwards by kneeing his face, threw a barrage of punches that landed, span around quickly, and delivered a devastatingly powerful kick, sending Ryu flying downwards, crashing into the ground. Ryu's facial expression didn't change as he jumped back to his feet, jumping to his right to dodge Guldo from crushing him with a stomp. Energy radiated in Ryu's hands, and he combined them into one large, golden orb of energy in his hands.

"Masenko..." Ryu inhaled slowly. Guldo's eyes shone as he gave a large grin, and he bent his hands towards Ryu, tensing, then screeched as a wave of energy shot towards Ryu. Ryu didn't feel anything, and he didn't wait to feel anything, either, as he threw his hands forward, the golden orb sparkling.

" _Ha_." The golden orb shot forwards, a large golden beam devouring Guldo, and once it traveled far enough, the raw energy sparkled again, then shot up in smoke as it exploded. Guldo stepped out of the smoke, his armor cracked and scratches and cuts lying over his body. Guldo scowled, glaring at the young boy in horrified confusion.

"I'm certain I didn't miss. Is it possible there are creatures out there with the immunity to my powers...!?" Guldo growled under his breath, watching as Ryu slowly slid into a stance, his icy glare piercing onto Guldo. Guldo grit his teeth, clenching his hands into fists, and screeched, charging up his energy as an aura surrounded him, then he shot at Ryu.

Ryu swerved his head to his left as he dodged a punch, then blocked a kick aimed at his chest. Ryu dodged another punch, then a kick, and he continued to bend to his sides and jump back as Guldo slowly grew faster and faster with his attacks. Ryu began to throw punches and kicks at Guldo, and the two of them locked in close-combat as both of them kept increasing their speed and power behind each blow in a test to see who was superior. Ryu grabbed Guldo's arm as he dodged another punch, harshly elbowing Guldo's waist, then kicked him far away as he radiated energy in both of his hands. Ryu slid his left hand on top of his right, a large orb of energy radiating as Ryu prepared to shoot. Sweat dripped off the young boy's face, and he narrowed his eyes, power shining in them.

" **Denkyu.** " Ryu shot a large blast of energy at Guldo. The orb whizzed through the air, and as Guldo was standing up again, he looked back, the blast sparkling behind him. Guldo's eyes shone as the blast shone, and a large explosion of bright, raw energy span in a spherical shape. The attack calmed down, and Guldo fell down to the ground with a thud, blood dripping down his body, his armor cracked and broken. Guldo stood back up slowly, gritting his teeth as he lifted his head up at Ryu, his eyes glaring at him manically.

"Go ahead, laugh at me. I don't care. This is NOT where I end, do you hear me?! I will stand up again! I'll crush all of you, and show everyone who's ever doubted me that I AM strong! The strongest-"

A blast of energy shot through Guldo's neck, blood spilling out of his neck as the last strings of skin attaching Guldo's head to his body snapped, and Guldo's head rolled down to the ground, his body falling forward next to his head. Ryu stared in horror at Guldo's messy corpse as blood pooled around him. Ryu then moved his stare to his opponent's killer: Vegeta.

"You were wasting time. When you're in a fight, every breath you take should contribute to your opponent's death." Vegeta walked past Ryu, his eyes fixed on Recoome. Ryu exhaled shakily, then stepped towards his two comrades, out of Vegeta's way.

"Great job, little guy. You did great." Krillin gave Ryu's back a small pat. Gohan then grinned, "That was an amazing fight! I'm gonna train super hard to get strong like that."

Ryu's eyes were stuck to the ground, Guldo's enraged glare and brutal death replaying in his head, his mind racing with just one thought: _Did he really... Have to die?_

Ryu was knocked out of his thoughts as multiple loud explosions boomed in front of him, smoke lifting above where Recoome was taking all these attacks. Vegeta held a large sphere of energy above him, then launched it down, raw energy exploding as Vegeta levitated down to the ground, smirking as if he already held victory in his hands.

Where Recoome's bloody, beaten body lied under dirt and rocks, he flipped back up to his feet, dusting himself off and smiling as if Vegeta hadn't even touched him. He lifted his eyes towards Vegeta, and his smile turned into a smirk as he murmured, "My turn."

Recoome blasted towards at Vegeta, smashing his face into the ground with a strong punch to the back of his head. Vegeta jumped back up, shoving his foot onto Recoome's side, but Recoome didn't stagger, grabbing Vegeta's leg and slamming him onto the ground, then threw him upwards, shooting after him. Vegeta regained himself, flipping forward, and slammed his foot on Recoome's shoulder, but it didn't faze him as he kneed Vegeta's waist. Vegeta's eyes dulled at the blow, and, with a devious grin, Recoome's arms and legs shot forward as he landed powerful, quick blows all over Vegeta's body. Recoome flipped numerous times mid-air, then delivered a bicycle kick to Vegeta's neck, sending him crashing downwards into a little lake.

Recoome's grin faded when Vegeta shot out of the lake, dashing straight into Recoome's stomach, but his expression changed into a smirk as he grabbed Vegeta's waist, then shot down to the ground, slamming him face-first into the ground, a small crater forming. Recoome grabbed Vegeta's leg, plucking him out of the ground, a smirk lying on his face.

"Aw, what a disappointment. I was sure you'd be able to satisfy me, but it seems you're just lacking the strength-" Recoome started, but Vegeta gave a point-blank blast to aimed at Recoome's head. Recoome crashed down to his back, and Vegeta fell down in his little crater, groaning. Recoome's legs raised up, then he flipped back to his feet, grinning to show the only thing lost in Vegeta's final attack was most of his teeth.

"Seems that attack was your last. And this attack... Will be the final." Recoome grinned, his mouth glowing as he radiated energy in it. "Recoome... _Eraser_...! _GUN!_ "

As Recoome shot his attack, Ryu shot his own attack at Recoome's head, a mini explosion of energy knocking Recoome down to his face. Ryu jumped jumped back towards Krillin and Gohan, who had helped Vegeta up.

"You idiots! You all should've attacked Recoome! I can't fight anymore." Vegeta spat. Krillin heaved a sigh and rolled his eyes. Recoome leapt to his feet once more, and Krillin glared at the strong opponent.

"I don't know if I stand a chance against this guy, but I can't have you two fighting all the battles here." Krillin gulped, then stood forward, sliding into a stance. Recoome smirked, and stood at his full height, his fists on his hips.

Krillin leapt towards his opponent, and elbowed his chest once, then threw a barrage of punches and kicks all over Recoome's body. Recoome slapped him away effortlessly, but Krillin jumped back, dropkicking the side of Recoome's head, then slammed his right foot's heel on Recoome's head. Recoome's eyes widened in surprise, then he tried to slap Krillin away again, but Krillin vanished, appearing behind Recoome and shooting a volley of blasts and beams of energy. Krillin cupped his hands, blue energy radiating and shining in his hands, then he shot a large, blue beam at Recoome.

Recoome shot out of the dust that covered him, and he slammed Krillin's face onto the ground with a kick, picked him up, then kneed his stomach, and head-butted himback down to the ground. Krillin shot a blast of energy to make Recoome stumble back, and made a quick, golden, sharp disk of energy in his left hand. Krillin leapt at Recoome, creating a very short distance between them so Recoome couldn't dodge.

But Krillin couldn't either. Recoome gave a devious smirk.

"Recoome Kick!" Recoome's right leg was a blur, crashing into the left side of Krillin's neck, shooting him away as his attack died away. Krillin rolled on the ground, then skidded to a stop with a small groan.

Ryu was by his side in seconds, Gohan right behind him, and he sat his hand on Krillin's neck, feeling multiple shards and broken pieces of bones. Ryu glanced behind him at Vegeta, who was in no shape for fighting, either. Ryu's eyelids drooped as he sighed, and he glanced back at Gohan.

"Gohan, listen up. I don't have a lot of time to explain, but here's what I need you to do: When I shoot this attack, I want you to grab Krillin, find Bulma, and get out of here as soon as possible."

"I'm not leaving without-"

"If you stay, we'll all die. Frieza wins, he controls everything and we never get to see our friends again. Follow the plan."

Ryu closed his eyes, his panicked attitude changing back into his normal attitude, and he stepped forward, ignoring his fear and his mind racing, looking for a plan to lead him to victory.

"Vegeta's little group continues to surprise me. A child now, hm?" Recoome grinned. Ryu extended his hands forward, his left have behind his right. Energy radiated in the palm of his right hand, and he slowed his breathing to calm himself.

 _Recoome let's his opponent's get the first strike. He did it with Vegeta, he did it with Krillin, he's doing it with me. I'll hit him with everything I got, and I'm sure that'll be enough for Gohan to escape._

As Ryu charged his attack, he felt determination flow through his blood, his veins, and his vision blurred as his eyes dulled, disappearing, being replaced with a glowing, white light. Ryu's attack grew into the size of a large boulder, then a pebble, and then back to the perfect size to be held in the palm of Ryu's hand. Ryu aimed the attack at the surprised Recoome, his eyes widening.

"Denkyu."

The orb of energy slowly crept towards Recoome, as it closed in on him it grew faster, bigger, stronger. Recoome's eyes widened as the blast began to shoot towards him, and he realized his mistake, jumping up to dodge the attack, but the blast was too big, too fast, and it softly touched Recoome's foot. The sphere of raw energy sparkled as it shot up in smoke, the energy radiating into a large explosion, with Recoome taking the full blast of the attack, vanishing as the blast consumed him.

The attack died down, a large crater imprinted where Recoome once stood. Ryu's eyes came back, and he stumbled to his knees, heaving a large sigh.

 _I don't really remember what happened, but Recoome's gone. We won._

"You're pretty impressive, kid."

Ryu spun around, and he felt an energy blast rip through his chest, his heart thumping twice in his ears, then he fell down, blood leaking out of his wound and dripping out of the corner of his mouth. His eyes were widened, then they dulled. Ryu felt his breathing slow until it stopped completely, and his eyes began to droop.

A man in orange and blue appeared, picking him up and holding him, and Ryu felt something slide down his throat, then the pain in his chest disappeared. Ryu's eyes recognized the man holding him, and he immediately clutched onto him in a hug.

"It's okay, Ryu. I'm here now. Thank you for being so strong for me. " Goku soothed as Ryu's eyes half-closed, tears streaming down his face as he clutched closer to his father. His eyes closed, and he drifted to a small slumber.


	7. A Monster? Z-Fighters vs Frieza, Part 1

Disclaimer: All rights go to their respected owners.

* * *

Ryu's eyes snapped open, then they dashed around him, absorbing his surroundings. He saw Vegeta sleeping, and he heard chatter outside. Ryu didn't want to bother dealing with Vegeta, so he levitated outside to make no noise, and he was greeted by Krillin and Gohan, who wore some Saiyan armor, and Dende, and they informed Ryu about everything that happened, from Goku's rough battle with Ginyu to Ginyu turning into a frog. Ryu nodded slowly, disappointed that his father had struggled so much and he was no help.

"Thanks for saving us back there!" Gohan broke Ryu out of his thoughts, and Krillin added, "I feel ashamed I couldn't do more, but yeah, thanks. Without you, Goku wouldn't have made it in time!"

Ryu smiled softly, then he gave a determined smile once Dende began to speak his native language to the Dragon Balls. Thunder boomed through the air, clouds slid close above the four, and the seven orbs glowed magically. All at once, a large figure shot out our the orbs, driving higher and higher into the air as two arms stuck out to his sides. The creature stopped glowing, and a large, green, muscular dragon leaned over the the four. Ryu stared up at it in astonishment.

" **You've summoned me, now state your wishes.** " The dragon, called Porunga, ordered.

 _Hey, it's me. Listen up. The first one out of the four of us is me._ Ryu heard a deep voice speak in his head.

"Piccolo-sensei? Where are you? And why you first?" Ryu asked, looking at Krillin and Gohan to see they heard Piccolo, too.

 _I'm in the same place your father trained at after he died with Raditz. I'm using someone's telepathic abilities to speak with you. You need to review me first, because then Earth's Dragon Balls work, and we can use_

"That makes sense. We should also wish him here, so we can defeat Frieza, together!" Gohan proposed, and, reluctantly from Krillin, they agreed. Dende, using his native tongue, told Porunga the two wishes, and Porunga's eyes glowed both times, the two wishes successfully granted. As they thought of their final wish, they heard someone stomp towards them from behind.

"I close my eyes for 10 minutes, and you pull this on me!? I'll just kill you all once I'm immortal! Namekian, make the wish! _Now!_ " Vegeta ordered.

Dende spun around, stuttering the wish in his language, and Porunga's eyes shone as he prepared to grant the final wish.

Porunga's eyes dulled, then he whisked away, the Dragon Balls floating next to him turning into stone, crashing down into the ground around the five.

"...I don't feel any different... What happened?!" Vegeta stared at his hands, clenching them slowly.

"...Guru... has died... Since he's the creator of the Dragon Balls, the Dragon Balls cease to exist now that he has ceased to exist." Dende wept.

Vegeta picked him up by his scarf, radiating an energy blast in his hand, scowling, "I have no care for you or your stupid Guru! You failed to give me what I want, so you must be punished. By death!"

" Vegeta, it wasn't his fault. He couldn't control what happened. Stop picking on a kid who can't defend himself and fight someone who can fight back, you coward." Ryu stepped forward, pointing his own orb of energy at Vegeta.

"Oh? You want to go a round or two? Fine by me! Anyone who challenges me will be killed by yours truly!"

"If that's the case, I challenge you, Prince Vegeta."

Vegeta froze, then spun around, his eyes shrinking at the figure he saw standing above him.

 _Hurry, Piccolo-sensei_... Ryu thought as his blast of energy slowly shrunk until it disappeared from sight. _...Because Frieza's a bit early._

Vegeta's terrified expression switched to a cocky one as he smirked, "This will be a fatal mistake, Frieza. I'm not the old Vegeta you once knew. I have surpassed him! I've become more than just the prince of all Saiyans! I've become... A Super Saiyan!"

"You haven't changed a bit. Still all bark but no bite. Or am I wrong? Please do let me know." Frieza sighed. Vegeta's smirk switched to a grin.

"I'll let you see for yourself."

Vegeta shot towards Frieza, and he spun to his right once, throwing a sharp kick to Frieza's head, but Frieza just slapped his foot away from him. Vegeta missed two more kicks as he regained himself, flipping around twice more and throwing his legs at Frieza just for him to dodge. Vegeta threw a punch, Frieza blocking effortlessly, then Vegeta threw a quick, strong barrage of punches and kicks, surprising Frieza as he barely dodged and blocked each attack, then Vegeta kicked him upwards, shooting after him.

Frieza regained himself, and grabbed Vegeta's wrist as Vegeta threw a punch at Frieza, the two struggling in a test of brute strength. They broke apart, then Vegeta jumped back at Frieza, the two throwing a volley of punches and kicks in close-combat. Vegeta grabbed Frieza's leg after blocking a kick, and he threw him upwards. Vegeta smirked, charging up his energy as an aura glowed around him, then his energy shot upwards, crashing straight into Frieza, devouring him as it continued to climb higher into the sky.

Vegeta levitated down, spitting on the ground, then watch as a tired Frieza slowly levitated to his feet.

 _Maybe we won't need Piccolo after all. Maybe we can beat Frieza!_ Ryu's hopes skyrocketed.

"What's with the stupid look? Hurry up and transform." Vegeta rolled his eyes. Ryu felt his hopes sink into nothing.

"Shouldn't we just finish the job now?" Ryu's eyes narrowed.

"If I were to kill Frieza without him being at his strongest, I wouldn't be worthy of the title of Saiyan." Vegeta raised his hand, clenching it into a fist. "I'll end Frieza at his greatest, and show him the true power of a Saiyan! The true power of a _Super_ Saiyan!

"You really... Haven't changed." Frieza's lips curled upwards into a smile, then his energy shot upwards as his muscles expanded with raw power. Frieza grew more muscular, taller, and his horns extended farther. Electricity trickled throughout Frieza's body, and he smirked, "This is the form you requested... Do enjoy.

Frieza vanished, then appeared to Vegeta's left, and he punched him harshly, sending him flying to his right. Vegeta regained himself quickly, and threw a punch at the charging Frieza, but he vanished again, reappearing behind Vegeta, kicking him downwards. Vegeta barely managed to land on the ground, and his entire body was shoved into the ground as Frieza stomped on him, lifted him up, and punched him away again, watching him crash into a boulder. Frieza started towards the groaning Vegeta, but stopped when he sensed a powerful energy nearby. Frieza glared up behind him, and he saw Piccolo staring down at him.

"Mr. Piccolo!" Gohan gasped. As Piccolo levitated down onto the ground, Gohan tackled him with a hug. Ryu ran up to his mentor, and he closed his eyes softly as Piccolo rubbed his hair. Piccolo moved past the two children, glaring at Frieza as he threw off his cape and turban.

"It's about time I got off the sidelines and jumped into the fun." Piccolo grinned, sliding into a stance.

"Have we met?" Frieza eyed the Namekian curiously.

"Yes... And no." Piccolo answered. Without wasting a breath, he leapt at the tyrant, and the two clashed their arms together, head-butting each other once, then leapt back, only to jump back at one another.

Piccolo threw a volley of kicks with just his left leg, then he delivered a sharp kick to Frieza's waist, sending him flying backwards. Piccolo's arms shot forwards Frieza, desperately trying to grasp onto the tyrant, but Frieza dodged swiftly, elbowing Piccolo's face harshly. Piccolo, with a growl, punched Frieza's face harshly, sweat flying off between the two. Frieza regained himself from the now, and his leg was a blur as he kicked Piccolo's face harshly. The two cried, throwing an avalanche of devastating blows at one another, then they head-butted each other simultaneously, stumbling backwards as their heads rang from the devastating blow. The two gasped in oxygen quickly, then jumped back at each other, throwing a volley of rapid attacks in close-combat.

Piccolo tied Frieza with his right arm, tugging him towards him, and he delivered a barrage of kicks, then punched him away. Frieza regained himself quickly, shooting a blast of energy at Piccolo, and Piccolo countered it with a blast of energy of his own, smoke clouding between the two as the blasts exploded upon contact. Dozens of dozens of every blasts shot out of the smoke, and Piccolo flew and dodged each blast swiftly, just to be put in a bear hug by Frieza. Frieza tightened the hug, smirking as he heard Piccolo's bones start to crackle. Piccolo elbowed Frieza's ribs harshly, bicycle kicked him downwards, and shot a large, golden beam of energy at Frieza from his mouth, smoke shooting upwards as the beam exploded upon contact with the tyrant.e

Piccolo stared down at the smoke, waiting for Frieza to come out, but, before he could react, a deadly beam shot out of the smoke, piercing into Piccolo's chest, blood pouring out of his mouth as he crashed down to the ground. Ryu's eyes widened, and, in a second, Gohan's energy skyrocketed, and he shot up to the levitating Frieza, punching harshly in the stomach, then gave a sharp uppercut to his face, finishing by clamping his hands together, and mashing them into the back of Frieza's skull.

An aura exploded around Gohan as he charged up his energy, radiating it into the palms of his hands, and his hands were a blur as he shot dozens of hundreds of blasts of energy at Frieza. Ryu jumped up in the air to make sure he was safe from Gohan's little outburst. Gohan raised both of his hands over his head, a blast of energy buzzing between them, and he lunged backwards, holding the blast in his right hand.

"Masenko..." Gohan's eyes widened, and he threw the blast of energy down at Frieza, crying, " ** _HA!_** "

The blast whizzed downwards, and once it hovered advice Frieza, it swirled around, every radiating and electricity buzzing as a large explosion of raw energy boomed. Ryu slowly in pin Gohan, and gave him a small hug as Gohan slowed his breathing.

"It's okay." Ryu soothed, Piccolo's death replaying in his head, and tears welled in his eyes as he thought, _I could've saved him._

Frieza appeared behind the two before either of them could react, and he shoved his horn straight towards Gohan.

Krillin shoved the two children out off the way without a thought, and Frieza stabbed Krillin's chest with his horn easily, shaking him as he gave a cruel laugh, and then he threw him down to the ground.

"Now... All that's left..." Frieza turned his cruel smile over to the young children menacingly, his lips stretching into a grin.

"Is me."

Piccolo swung a sharp kick to Frieza's side, sending him flying to his left. Ryu's eyes widened in surprise and confusion.

 _Piccolo-sensei! But didn't Frieza...?_ Ryu's eyes slid downward, and he saw Vegeta, completely healed, and Krillin, who was being healed by Dende. _Dende has healing abilities!_

Ryu and Gohan levitated down to the three, Gohan immediately thanking Dende. Ryu glanced back up at Piccolo and Frieza, instantly charging up his energy to prepare for flight when he saw Piccolo allowing Frieza to transform yet again. Before he could start towards them, Vegeta appeared in his way, arms crossed casually.

"A Saiyan time is that when one is in battle, it's _their_ battle. Don't interfere, unless they grant you the right. " Vegeta scowled, daring Ryu to object. Ryu heaved a frustrated sigh, but obeyed.

 _Yet he ended my fight with Guldo without me granting him permission to do so._ Ryu looked up at Frieza, any hope of victory he had dying at the sight of Frieza successfully transforming into his 3rd form. Piccolo grinned, and the two of them continued their fight.

Piccolo threw an avalanche of punches and kicks at Frieza, but Frieza's speed had increased, surpassing Piccolo's. Frieza harshly kneed Piccolo's stomach, then popped his leg upwards as he kicked Piccolo upwards, shooting after him. Piccolo extended both of his arms towards the tyrant, but he just swerved and dodged them effortlessly, elbowing Piccolo's face, then punching it, and he blocked a kick aimed for his head, throwing two rapid punches at Piccolo's face and chest.

Frieza radiated energy at the tips of his index and middle fingers in both hands, and his hands were a blur as he shot dozens of dozens of bullets of energy all over Piccolo's body, laughing maniacally as he did so. Frieza radiated a large sphere of energy in his hands, then shoved it into Piccolo's stomach, watching as he shot down onto the ground, stuck in an explosion of energy.

Piccolo managed to stand back up, and Ryu helped him towards Dende, who immediately began healing him once more. Vegeta stepped forward, ready to fight Frieza once more, and Frieza heaved a sigh.

"You still think you stand a chance? This has gotten write boring, but I have a new way to spice things up. Let's see how long it takes... For you to realize I'm stronger than you."

"I'll always be stronger than you, Frieza. I'll always be better! Because no matter what, I'm still the very thing you fear most: A Super Saiyan!" Vegeta barked back.

"...I'm going to show you something special. I haven't used this form in quite a while, so take pride in that." An aura glowed around him, then dark purple, malicious energy exploded around Frieza as his energy increased. With a laugh, smoke puffed around him as he transformed into his final form.

A purple beam of energy shot out of the smoke, missiling past Piccolo, Vegeta, Krillin, Gohan, and Ryu, until it pierced straight through Dende's head, the young Namekian dropping to his back softly, blood spilling out of his head. Ryu's eyes widened in horror, and he ran towards the young child, sitting his hand on his chest. His face darkened as he heard Frieza snicker, "One down, five to go.".

 _ **You feel... Angry, don't you? You feel an intent to kill, to kill Frieza.**_ A familiar voice growl. _**I can help you. Just... Come closer.**_

In a split second, Ryu was inside a dark room, a cage behind him, trapping a dark figure, the owner of the deep voice.

"I'm not fighting to kill. I don't have the right to take anyone's life." Ryu murmured softly.

 _ **You're lying. You want to kill... You want to kill anyone that hurts your family. You can lie to yourself, but you can't change the emotions you're feeling.**_

"N-No... No! Only pathetic monsters would want to kill!"

 _ **Stop lying to yourself, boy. You know the truth. You're not human, you're not ordinary. You've got Saiyan, Yusha, and Ryojin blood flowing through your veins. You have me inside of you. You, Ryu... You're a monster. Soon everyone will see this, and they'll leave you. They'll hate you. But, Ryu, with my help, you can end them before they have the chance to hurt you. Just come closer.**_

Ryu's eyes shone as tears welled in his eyes, age he clenched them close, tears streaming down his face uncontrollably. _Am I? Am I... A monster?_

Ryu slowly stood up, and dragged himself closer to the beast behind the cage. _Should I even be alive? Monsters like me... Don't have a right to live. It'll be better than losing everyone. I say this, yet... I'm coming to him. I trust him. I... Want to kill Frieza. I want revenge._

Ryu stopped in front of the cage, his eyes swirling into a bloody, scarlet red color, his pupils slitting. A large string of thick energy attached to Ryu's foot, and it vanished as Ryu absorbed the energy quickly.

Back in reality, a crimson red energy swirled around Ryu, spinning above him into the face of a dragon. Ryu's eyes pierced into Frieza's, and the energy swirling around him cloaked around him, three tails slithering out from his rear. Scales began to blend in with his skin, and his fingernails sharpened into claws.

 _I really am a monster._ Ryu gave a monstrous cry, whizzing towards Frieza.

Ryu threw a punch, then another, then a volley of punches, Frieza's tail dashing to block each attack. Ryu front-flipped once, his three tails combining into one, large hand of energy, and he slammed it down onto Frieza. Frieza lifted it up, swiftly punching Ryu away, but Ryu dug his claws into the ground, stopping himself quickly. He stretched out his claws, his eyes widening, and he dashed back towards Frieza, who instinctively kicked the boy away, sending him skidding on the ground on his side. Ryu rolled onto all fours, leaping back towards Frieza with a snarl.

Frieza began to dodge Ryu's tiny fists easily, but as Ryu continued, he increased his speed, Frieza beginning to barely dodge his attacks. Frieza spun around, slapping Ryu with his tail, then Ryu spun around, doing the same to Frieza. Scowling, Frieza aimed A kick for Ryu's head, but Ryu dodged it swiftly, kneeing Frieza's face, then drop-kicked his chest, sending him stumbling back.

Frieza radiated a small orb of energy at the tip of his index finger, and shot a beam of energy at Ryu. Ryu bent backwards to dodge out, then hopped to his right to dodge another. Ryu bent backwards, sitting his hands on the ground and throwing himself backwards, dodging multiple more beams. Frieza let out a cruel laugh as he continued to watch Ryu jump and dodge each of his attacks.

Ryu jumped up into the air, and Frieza aimed a specially large orb of energy at him, and shot a large bullet of energy. Ryu's tails swirled into one, large hand, then clenched into a giant fist, easily shattering Frieza's attack and closing in on Frieza. Frieza leapt into the air to dodge, but two hands off energy grabbed him in an instant, slamming him into the ground, then slamming into the ground behind him. Ryu tugged the hands of energy towards him, sending Frieza flying towards him, and he coated his left arm with the three tails of energy, forming a large fist. Ryu's eyes alarmed, Vegeta's voice playing in his head.

 _When you're in a fight, every breath you take should contribute to your opponent's death._

" _ **Bipou:** Ryu no Kaimetsu-Tekina Dageki! _ (Tailed Beast Art: Dragon's Devastating Blow!)" Ryu crashed his fist into Frieza's chest, the two crashing siren to the ground, and pieces of the earth shot up into the sky, a large crater cracking into the ground. Ryu flipped up into the air, inhaling deeply, energy radiating inside his mouth. The cloak of energy that engulfed him slid into his mouth slowly.

" _ **Bipou:**_ _Ryu no Raimei!_ (Tailed Beast Art: Dragon's Thundering Roar!)" Ryu spewed a large beam of the strange, thick energy, and it crashed down onto Frieza, a large explosion of raw energy radiating. Ryu landed near his teammates softly, and he narrowed his eyes, glaring at where Frieza lied.

A fist crashed into Ryu's stomach, and his blazing red eyes returned to their cool blue color, his pupils spinning back into dots, then his eyes disappeared all together after his heart banged in his ears twice. He heard Frieza's mocking snicker, then everything darkened as his vision faded. Ryu fell to the ground, and he lost consciousness.


	8. SSJ! Z-Fighters vs Frieza, Part 2

Disclaimer: All rights go to their respected owners.

* * *

Ryu's eyes snapped open, and he jumped up, nearly falling out of Piccolo's arms. Ryu glanced around seeing that they were flying, Goku's energy fading away, which showed they were traveling away from him.

"Goku told us to leave Frieza to him and to wait for him with Bulma." Piccolo explained as Ryu opened his mouth to ask the question. Ryu flipped into the air, flying next to Piccolo.

"Where's Vegeta?" Ryu asked, noticing he wasn't with them.

"Goku arrived a little too late. Frieza killed him."

Ryu's eyes slid down, a wave of sadness hitting him. _He was a jerk, but..._

Ryu heard his father scream, and he froze, spinning around to Goku's direction. Another scream rang in Ryu's ears, and he shot towards his father before anyone could ask what was wrong.

"What the hell are you doing, Ryu?!" Krillin barked once he caught up with him, Gohan and Piccolo behind him.

"My dad needs help. I heard him screaming."

"You're not sure if it's real or not, Ryu! You can't just fling yourself into danger like that!"

Ryu didn't respond, instead he just increased his speed. Ryu arrived where Goku and Frieza were, seeing Goku hold his arms up in the air, his hands flat, and Frieza was using him as a living punching bag. Frieza leapt back to dodge a volley of energy blasts by Ryu, and Ryu didn't waste a second charging back at the tyrant.

"I just need time to charge this up!" Goku exclaimed, and Ryu nodded, radiating energy in the palms of his hands.

 _Time to do what children do best:_ Ryu inhaled slowly, bringing his hands to his waist. _Annoy._

Ryu's hands were a blur as he shot dozens of hundreds of missiles of energy at Frieza, who lifted his arms to block all of them, and as Ryu finished his barrage, he shot towards Frieza again, elbowing his waist, flipping around to face Frieza, and kicked him away, shooting after him. Frieza regained himself, and kneed Ryu's face as the young boy crashed into his knee. Frieza punched Ryu's stomach, then uppercut his chin, but was blasted away by Piccolo before he could do anything else. Ryu shook his head vigorously to stop the ringing in his ears, and her shot towards Frieza behind Piccolo.

Frieza ducked to dodge a kick from Piccolo, then blocked a punch from Ryu with his right arm. Piccolo kneed Frieza's chin upwards, then popped his leg up to kick him upwards. Ryu shot towards Frieza, harshly thrusting his foot into Frieza's stomach, radiating energy in the palms of both of his hands. He sat his left hand behind his right, golden energy radiating into an orb of energy.

"Masenko... Ha." Ryu thrusted his hands in front of Frieza, and a golden stream of golden energy consumed Frieza. With a cry, Ryu added more power to it, the beam increasing in size. Piccolo shot his own Masenko, combining it with Ryu's, and a huge beam of energy engulfed Frieza.

As the beam died down, Frieza whizzed by, kicking Piccolo's waist, sending him flying downwards. Ryu threw a kick of his own aimed at Frieza's head, but it didn't even faze him as the blow landed. Frieza shot a blast of energy at Ryu's stomach, smirking as the young boy crashed down to the ground, the blast of energy exploding as Ryu hit the ground.

"Frieza!" Goku cried, swinging his hands down to the ground. "Take this!"

Frieza snapped his head upwards, his eyes widening at the sight of the large, blue planet-sized dome of pure energy. It crashed downwards, and Frieza wouldn't be able to dodge the gigantic attack, so he extended his arms, grabbing it, using all of his strength in an attempt to stop the attack, but it easily overpowered him, dragging him down to the ground. Ryu's eyes widened as the blast made contact with land, sparkling brightly, then a dome of raw energy radiated into an explosion, sending Ryu and the rest of the Z-Fighters flying.

As the explosion died down, Ryu dragged himself onto a piece of land, panting as he tried to stand up, but just slumped down after pain shot through his entire body.

"Ryu!" Ryu identified the voice as Krillin's, and there was another energy signature next to him, which Ryu identified as Gohan. Ryu rolled onto his side to show them that he was still alive. Gohan helped him up, and the trio searched for Piccolo and Goku.

As they flew around, Gohan spotted Piccolo helping Goku out of the ocean that surrounded them, and the three of them dashed to help the two. Ryu glanced up, and he spotted a large hole where Goku's attack had hit. The group grinned and smiled and laughed as they helped each other up, preparing to end their long nightmare.

A beam pierced through Piccolo's chest, and Piccolo fell down on his back. Ryu's eyes shone into a blazing red color, his pupils slitting, but they returned to their original state as another beam shot through his chest. Ryu's eyes dulled as pain exploded in his chest, and blood poured out of his mouth. He fell to his face, and his eyes half-closed as his consciousness faded.

* * *

Ryu's eyes fluttered open, and he jumped up, looking around spotting multiple Namekians, Piccolo, Bulma, Dende, Gohan, and Vegeta.

"Dad transformed into a Super Saiyan, earth's Dragon Balls were used to revive everyone that Frieza killed, and, since Guru died due to the stress of Frieza's raid, he was revived. Vegeta and Dende were arrived as well, and since Porunga died before we could use our final wish, he came back, and Dende used the remaining wish to move everyone except Frieza and Dad on earth." Gohan explained briefly.

"Don't forget the fact that Namek exploded, meaning both Frieza and Kakarot are dead." Vegeta added.

"We don't know that!" Bulma barked.

"Are you telling me there's a possible chance that Kakarot managed to escape the planet's explosion? The only possible way for him to match the speed possible to outrun that is by using one of Frieza's ships, and I'm certain that there weren't any left! Even if he managed to find one, Kakarot's too stupid to figure out how to work one." Vegeta retorted.

"Don't speak about my Dad that way!" Gohan growled.

"Are you going to make me?"

"If he won't, I will." Ryu glared at Vegeta.

"Then let's go!"

Their squabbling was cut off over the weeping of Dende and many Namekians, seeing that Guru was passing away. With a smile, Guru's body whisked away into his soul, and he floated upwards into the sky, moving into his new home in the Other-World.

"Are you done crying, boy? I'm itching to beat you senseless." Vegeta smirked.

"Someone just died here. Is now really the time for fighting?" Ryu's eyes narrowed.

"Chickening out? That's pathetic, just like your pathetic father."

"Were you born an asshole?"

"Only to weaklings like you."

"You're talking to someone who fought against Frieza and lived. You weren't strong enough to survive against him- You **died** , and you depended on someone else to revive you, someone else to bring you to safety and now you're picking on not a Super Saiyan wannabe, a true Super Saiyan, who is currently not here."

Vegeta punched Ryu's stomach harshly, then kicked him upwards, shooting after him. Ryu regained himself, exhaling sharply, and dodged a punch, kicking Vegeta's side, and ducked to dodge a kick, jumping backwards as he radiated energy in his hands. Ryu shot multiple energy blasts at Vegeta, but he dodged each one swiftly, kneeing Ryu's stomach harshly.

Ryu's eyes dulled, but he forced them to shine again, blinking once, and he sat his hands on Vegeta's knee, flipping forward and slamming his left foot's heel onto Vegeta's head, sending him flying downwards. Vegeta regained himself, shooting back towards Ryu, and Ryu shot towards him.

Piccolo grabbed Vegeta's foot in his left hand, kicking his face with his right foot harshly, and Ryu softly bumped into the demon's back, glaring at Vegeta.

"Why don't you pick on someone your own size?" Piccolo growled. Vegeta eyed him, but just spat blood on the ground, levitating down. Ryu levitated down to the ground. Dende walked over to him to heal him, but Ryu shook his head.

After that little event, Bulma made a deal with the Namekians. They would make new Dragon Balls as quickly as possible, and Bulma made them a place to live while they did so, right next to Capsule Corp.

In a years time, the Namekians finished the Dragon Balls, and Bulma called the rest of the Z-Fighters as a new Porunga was summoned.

For the first wish, Krillin's soul was moved to earth and he was revived.

For the second, everyone that was dead on King Kai's planet was revived. Krillin, Tien, Chiaotzu, and Yamcha all walked out of a white void behind Porunga. Gohan tackled Krillin with a hug as soon as he was within his range.

"Too bad we missed out on all the fun." Tien crossed his arms over his chest.

"It was fun, all right." Piccolo grinned.

For the final wish, Porunga was asked to revive Goku.

" **THAT WISH... CANNOT BE GRANTED.** "

"Why?!" Gohan barked.

" **BECAUSE SON GOKU... IS STILL ALIVE.** "

After a moment of cries of joy and relief, Porunga was asked to bring Goku to earth.

" **THAT WISH... CANNOT BE GRANTED. GOKU WISHES TO STAY WHERE HE IS. FOR TRAINING.** "

After a few moments of disappointed sighs, the Namekians used the final wish to transport them and the Dragon Balls to a different planet that King Kai found, which was similar to Namek, and it was given the name New Namek.

After that goodbye, the Z-Fighters went on with their lives. Training, studying, and just enjoying the peace that was brought into their lives.

But there's no such thing as eternal peace.


	9. Frieza's Return, and Goku's Arrival

Disclaimer: All rights go to their respected owners.

* * *

It had been a year since the war with Frieza, and since the wait for Goku to return started. Gohan was now six, Ryu seven. Gohan was doing schoolwork, and Ryu was napping. For the past month, Ryu was having trouble sleeping, the same nightmare haunting him in his dreams. The same one he was being tortured with now.

* * *

Ryu glanced at his reflection in a puddle of blood, seeing his right eye was a shining, golden color, and he was taller, older, just like he always was. Ryu glared up, and he saw his house on a hill, the sky a dark, gloomy red. In an instant, Ryu was in front of the door of his house, and then it creaked open slowly, blood that flooded the house pouring out of the door, all of it gone in an instant.

Ryu walked in slowly, flinching at the sight of his grandfather crucified to a wall, his head removed from his body and pinned right above his corpse.

Ryu walked on, his eyes softening at Gohan's corpse, his stomach ripped open, blood and intestines spilling out.

Ryu walked inside his room, his mother's fingers and eyes stabbed with needles, crafted from a strange, dark energy and a noose tied around her neck as she dangled from the ceiling. Ryu's eyes narrowed as he looked at a black orb hovering over his bed.

"Wanna tell me just what the hell are you now?"

"I keep telling you, Ryu." The orb smiled, spinning into the shape of a small, plump, black demon. "I'm **you**."

"Why do you keep bringing me here? What's your goal here- What do you want? To torture me?"

"All of this is a warning. A glimpse of the future that your ancestors are showing you because they need you to be ready for the mission you were destined for. Except... They had less time than they knew. Now, they're panicked. They're rushing things, rushing you-"

"Tell me something helpful, something I can get from out off this. Ancestors? Mission I was destined for? _Explain_ this, don't just tell me the same thing every time I come here!"

The demon smiled, "Bye, Ryu."

"Wai-!"

Then, Ryu heard something new for once.

The laughter of Frieza.

* * *

Ryu's eyes snapped open, and he calmed himself down once he saw Gohan, safe and sound. Frieza's cruel snicker rang in his ears, and a feeling of malice and hatred burning in his head. Ryu's eyes widened, snapping his eyes outside his window, in the direction of the energy signal he felt.

"Are you feeling that?" Ryu asked his younger brother. Gohan nodded slowly.

Gohan made a quick call with Krillin, and he felt the same energy, even confirming who's it was.

Frieza was back.

Gohan grabbed his Saiyan suit, Ryu slipped on his gi made by Piccolo, and they blasted off towards the terrible energy signal. As they flew on, Krillin met up with the two children.

"Well, at least we're coming together again. It's nice to see you guys."

"Wish we could've just came to a party or something." Gohan chuckled.

As they continued on, Tien, Chiaotzu, and Yamcha grouped with them.

"It's about time I can put my training to good use." Tien smirked.

"Glad someone's not pissing their pants in terror here." Yamcha rolled his eyes.

Soon enough, the group arrived behind a large rock, where Vegeta and Piccolo were already standing, staring at a large spaceship that was closing in on the earth.

"Is that really...?" Yamcha started, not sure if he was ready for the answer.

"It's Frieza." Piccolo barked bluntly.

"Great! I got a second chance at life just to die again in a year." Yamcha muttered.

"Maybe if you trained, you'd stand a chance." Tien responded.

"I put my fighting days behind me."

 _Then why're you here?_ Ryu's face darkened.

A ship landed nearby, and Bulma stepped out of it, holding Puar in her hands, grinning, "I'm not gonna let an alien waltz onto earth and I don't even see it!"

Frieza, who had mechanical substitutes for the limbs and pieces of his body that he lost in his battle with Goku, slowly stepped out of his spaceship as it landed, followed by a larger creature behind him and multiple soldiers to scan the area. In a blink of an eye, all they soldiers went down with one blow. As the Z-Fighters continued to watch, they saw the man responsible for the attack was a purple-headed, teenaged boy with a strangely high energy signature.

"Hey! You're Frieza, right?" A purple-haired, teenaged boy asked.

"Yes, I am. Has word about my arrival traveled around already?" Frieza snickered.

"You 're...?" The boy stared at the creature behind Frieza.

"King Cold, Frieza's father." King Cold explained briefly.

"I have something to show you, Frieza. Goku isn't the only Super Saiyan. In fact, you're staring right at one." The boy smirked. Frieza tried to stifle a chuckle, but he exploded with laughter at such an obvious bluff. As the boy began to charge his energy, a golden aura of energy surrounding him, his eyes glowing turquoise and his hair glowing golden briefly, Frieza's eyes widened. With a cry, the young boy's hair spiked into a golden hairdo, his eyes swirling into a turquoise color.

 _That's a Super Saiyan?_ Ryu watched with intense curiosity.

"The same eyes...! The same hair...!" Frieza trembled. "You have the same eyes...! The same hair...!"

"What's wrong, Frieza? I thought you'd be more angry then terrified. I had my hopes up."

Frieza's terrified expression turned into an enraged one as he shot a volley of blasts of energy at the young boy, then he made a large, fiery sun of energy above, him throwing it where the boy stood. Frieza started to snicker, then he chuckled, then he boomed with a mocking laugh at the quick defeat of the Super Saiyan.

The sun-shaped attack of energy slowly began to rise, the young boy holding it with his right hand, then he threw it back at Frieza and King Cold. The two leapt out of the way of the attack, and the attack obliterated the spaceship they traveled in.

Frieza, who had jumped in the air, was in the path of the young boy, who held onto the sword that he carried on his back. He swung the blade downwards, certainly cutting Frieza in half, then he chopped the tyrant up into little pieces. The boy radiated energy in the palm of his right hand, and he engulfed the pieces of Frieza in a blast of energy, destroying him completely. The boy landed in front of King Cold, who was trembling in rage, fear, and confusion.

"H-Hm... It seems that a Super Saiyan doesn't just change your appearance. It gives you a power boost... And a huge one at that. What about that sword of yours...? Let me see it." King Cold demanded.

The boy threw the monster his sword, and King Cold inspected the blade carefully. King Cold swung the sword in an attempt to cut the boy in half vertically, but the boy grabbed it effortlessly, shooting a beam of energy through King Cold's chest, jumping down in front of him as he slammed against a pulse, then slid down to the ground slowly.

"W-Wait! Surely we can work something out, civilly! I'll give you a planet if you just let me go. 4 planets. A solar system!" King Cold begged.

"I only need one planet to protect. And to do that... I need to get rid of you."

"N-!"

The boy fired a blast of energy at the monster, completely obliterating him. With a sigh, the young boy's hair dropped down into his purple bowl-cut, his eyes returning to their normal blue color. The boy moved away from the pillar, then waved in the Z-Fighters' direction.

"Hey, guys! I know where Goku's going to land, follow me!"

"We don't know anything about this kid. He could be setting us up." Tien shook his head.

"All of us? I don't think he's that stupid, even if he is a Super Saiyan!" Gohan retorted.

"Plus, he knows Goku!" Krillin added.

"Frieza knows Goku, too. We don't know what Goku's been up to, maybe he did something to affect this kid and the kid wants revenge, and he plans on using us as hostages. We just don't know." Piccolo reasoned.

"Well, I'm not just gonna sit here while that guy talks to my dad! I'm gonna take the risk." Gohan walked off stubbornly. Krillin glanced back art his teammates, then left with Gohan. Since Gohan left, Ryu hopped up with him, and Chiaotzu followed the three, Tien coming since Chiaotzu was and Yamcha coming since Tien was. Bulma and Puar followed the two, and, with a sigh, Piccolo joined everyone else. Not wanting to look cowardly, Vegeta followed.

The boy popped out a capsule, and a refrigerator full of soda popping out, and everyone, minus Piccolo, Vegeta, and Puar, grabbed one, carefree.

"Tell me, boy, how did you manage to achieve the state of Super Saiyan?" Vegeta barked after a grew moments of silence.

"That's personal."

"Does it look like I care?! I demand to know!"

The boy didn't respond, and silence lifted it's way into the area awkwardly. After a few, quiet moments, the boy stood up, murmuring, "Goku should be here any second."

"Boy, if you've wasted my time, I'll-" Vegeta started, but he was cut off as a pod crashed into the ground nearby. The Z-Fighters inched towards the crater the crash brought, and they saw Goku exit the machine. Gohan and Ryu dashed towards their father, tackling him with a hug, and the rest of the Z-Fighters greeted Goku.

"I'm really sorry, guys, but can I have a minute with Goku?" The boy asked, and smiled thankfully as the Z-Fighters moved back. Ryu noticed Piccolo's ears twitching as the two Saiyans talked.

 _Can you tell me what they're saying?_ Ryu asked through telepathy.

 _Not sure if I should. This sounds pretty private._ Piccolo responded.

 _You're still gonna listen on. If it's private, I should know so I can prepare myself._

 _Heh, you're just nosy. The kid's name is Trunks, he came from the future, and in the future he's the only warrior left. There's gonna be two androids, and they kill us all, except Goku, who dies from a heart virus. The future Bulma made an antidote for the Goku in this timeline, though, and Trunks gave him that. Age 767, May 12th, nine kilometers west of South City at 10:00 is when and where the androids attack._

Ryu stared at the ground, letting all the information sink in. Ryu nodded slowly, _We've got three years to train. That should be plenty._

 _We'll make sure it is._


	10. More Training!

Disclaimer: All rights go to their respected owners.

* * *

Piccolo was meditating near Goku's home peacefully, then hopped to his feet when he sensed Ryu coming.

"Piccolo-sensei." Ryu greeted his mentor, bowing slightly.

"Hey, kid. There's not much for us to work on other than improvement, but there's something I want to see. Do you remember your form, after Dende died?"

" ...No, everything's blank after that."

Piccolo sighed in disappointment, and Ryu's eyes drooped, feeling as if he failed. A piece of memory hit him as he tried harder to think.

"Oh! I remember something. I was talking to a creature behind a cage. He was trying to get me to kill Frieza, and he... He called me a monster. I listened to him, and he gave me some power. Everything's dark after that. "

Piccolo nodded slowly, thinking about everything that Ryu explained. Ryu's eyes drooped again as he remembered the creature's cruel words. _**You're a monster.**_

"Am I, Piccolo-sensei...?" Ryu's face darkened as he bowed it. "Am I... A monster?"

Piccolo stared at the young boy momentarily, then sat his hand on his hair. "No, Ryu, you're not a monster. You're too pure to be one."

Ryu smiled softly, but his face was still darkened, doubt and confusion running through his veins. Ryu lofted his head, forgetting about all of his worries as Piccolo spoke up, "I want to see if you can bring that form back. We could use that power, we could use you _mastering_ that power."

Ryu nodded slowly, and closed his eyes. _Excuse me, Mr. Monster, sir, I need to talk to you._

No response.

 _...Please? I need... I need power. I need to stop bad people._

No response.

 _I need to kill them._

 _ **You WANT to kill them.**_

In the blink of an eye, Ryu was back in the dark, gloomy room, right in front of the cage, the monster glaring down at him.

 _Hi._

 ** _There are no bad people here yet. If I give you power now, you'll lose it before the bad people arrive. Why are we talking?_**

 _I'm going to master that power, so I can tap into it at will._

The monster exploded with laughter at the young boy's foolishness, and once he regained himself, he shook his head slowly. **_You cannot master my power, fool._**

 _I have to try._

 ** _Why?_**

 _My friends will get hurt if I don't. I need to protect them._

 _ **You "heroes" are such strange creatures. You want to protect your friends, yet you will be the downfall of them one day.**_

 _No, I won't._

 ** _You're destined to, Ryu. You don't have a choice._**

 _I'll just defeat destiny, then. The only one who can tell me my destiny, my fate, is **me.**_

The creature stared at Ryu in surprise, then closed his eyes softly, sighing, _Do you remember me mentioning your Ryujin blood? It's currently latent, but I'm going to awaken that power for you. You do the rest._

The monster used the tip of his razor-sharp fingernail to tap Ryu's forehead, and Ryu's eyes swirled into a blazing red color, his pupils slitting. Ryu felt adrenaline rushing through his entire body, and he stared at his hands in surprise.

In an instant, Ryu was back in reality, his eyes the same as when he was with the monster behind the cage, and a scale-like pattern displayed on Ryu's cheeks, lower arm, and back of hand.

"Is that it? You look different that before." Piccolo analyzed the young boy.

"The monster said this was a latent form I had, and he awakened it. I'm not sure what it is or what it's abilities are." Ryu explained briefly, breathing heavily.

"We'll spar to find out. I'll look for advantages and disadvantages, you just focus on defeating me."

Ryu nodded, and the two slid into a stance immediately. Ryu's eyes narrowed, and he jumped towards Piccolo. Ryu whizzed past him, his speed far greater than his previous self. Ryu rolled on the ground, dragging his hands into the ground to stop himself, and he jumped back at Piccolo, and threw a barrage of punches and kicks, way too fast for Piccolo to react to. Piccolo kicked the young boy away, but Ryu jumped back at him, head-butting Piccolo's face, then kicking his chest harshly, sending him stumbling backwards.

 _ **Kill him.**_ A deep voice echoed in Ryu's head. Ryu sharpened his fingernails into claw-like razors, and he charged back at Piccolo, scratching at his head and chest. Piccolo swerved to his sides to dodge and slapped Ryu's hands away from himhim as they inched closer to him.

 _He's MUCH faster, he can sharpen his nails into claws and use them in combat, and... He's fighting with the intent to kill. Or-_ Piccolo's eyes widening. _Is the creature he spoke about using him to kill? Using him to kill me?_

Piccolo jumped back to dodge a slash from Ryu, extending his hands to grab Ryu. Ryu dodged both of them, using his small weight to run up on Piccolo's left arm. Ryu's eyes shone, and he vanished as he whizzed right next to Piccolo. Ryu used his energy to fly, but he didn't have any ki in this form. He had the strange, thick energy, and that energy was too thick to be used to carry him, to make him fly. Ryu stabbed Piccolo's left leg with his right hand, trying to climb up onto something he can stand on, but Piccolo elbowed his face, sending him crashing down.

Ryu regained himself, flipped forward once, and propelled himself off of the ground, shooting back towards Piccolo. Ryu crashed his left foot into Piccolo's stomach, then uppercut his face. Piccolo bellowed, enraged, and he clamped his hands together, slamming them into Ryu's head, and sending him crashing downwards. Ryu slammed on the ground, hopping back to his feet, and smiled softly as he saw Piccolo shot hundreds of energy blasts at him.

Ryu jumped to his right, dodging the explosions from the attacks Piccolo threw. Ryu back-flipped to his right, then he was a blur as he dashed around. Ryu froze, glancing around him, and he saw energy blasts to his right, behind him, to his left, and in front of him.

He was completely surrounded.

" _MAKUHOIDAN!_ " Piccolo swung his arms around himself as if he was hugging himself, and the energy blasts sparkled around Ryu, radiating themselves as they prepared to explode. They shot towards Ryu, and as Ryu's eyes shone from the numerous blasts, all of them made contact with him, exploding once they did.

Once the smoke from the attack died down, Ryu was lying in a patch of dirt, bruises surrounding his body. Piccolo levitated down to the young boy, crouched down to his level, and sat his hand on the boy's chest, fixing up his clothes and using energy to heal him. Ryu's eyes slowly lifted, showing they were back to their icy blue state.

"Take a breather. We're going back to training in a moment." Piccolo stood back up, and sat down, closing his eyes as he began to meditate. Ryu closed his eyes softly.

* * *

"Get back in your new form." Piccolo ordered, their break finished.

Ryu stood up, and closed his eyes. He opened them, and he was in a dimly lit room, three doors right in front of him. The door on the left was labeled " **SAIYAJIN** ", the one on the right " **RYOJIN** ", the one in the middle " **YUSHA** ".

Ryu's hand stretched towards the middle door, twisting the doorknob, but it was locked, sending a jolt of electricity through his right arm. Ryu waved his arm to stop the stinging, then grabbed the right door's doorknob, opening the door. Ryu took a step inside the room, but as both of his feet touched the floor, it disappeared, leaving Ryu to fall down into the depths of the darkness.

Back in reality, Ryu's eyes twisted into a scarlet red color, his pupils slitting, and his breathing grew heavy as energy dashed through him.

"Why are you breathing heavily?" Piccolo asked curiously.

"I feel like I ran a marathon. I want to run another one." Ryu answered.

"That's why you're so fast... You seem to have more energy in that form of yours than your Saiyan one. Give it some time, you'll learn how to use the right amount of energy soon and you'll grow used to the feeling. We just need to use it some more."

Ryu nodded slowly, asking, "Are we going to spar again?"

"No. You're going to learn how to use that form's energy properly, the same way you learned to use your Saiyan form's energy. "

Ryu nodded slowly once more, and extended his right hand, radiating an orb of energy in the palm of his hand. Ryu lunged backwards, and threw it upwards. As he did, the orb disappeared immediately.

"Don't think about it, Ryu."

"I didn't think about it all. That's not gonna work." Ryu threw another orb of the thick energy upwards, then another, then a barrage of blasts of energy, each one vanishing as soon as Ryu released it from his hands.

"Are you not getting tired?" Piccolo asked as Ryu continued to throw energy orb after energy orb, and Ryu shook his head. Piccolo watched him curiously, "Stop only when you feel you lost energy."

Ryu continued on for ten minutes straight, then Piccolo told him to stop, smirking, "Looks like in that form, you have a limitless amount of energy."

"Probably explains why I feel so energized."

"It also seems like there's some special trick to your strange energy. I'm afraid that's a trick you'll have to figure out yourself, as you're the only one with it. For now, we'll just spar to help you learn to control your excessive amount of energy."

Ryu nodded slowly, clenching his fists lightly as he thought, _I heard the monster tell me to kill. I listened. I need to block him out of my head, I won't kill anyone. I don't want to._

One, powerful thought rang in his head immediately afterwards:

 ** _Then_** ** _why did you listen?_**


	11. Z-Fighters vs The Androids!

Disclaimer: All rights go to their respected owners.

* * *

Ryu and Piccolo levitated down to a small island, which was close to the city the Androids were going to attack. Three years had passed, and now the Z-Fighters, Bulma, and a baby Trunks were all together again. Chiaotzu was home with Master Roshi, and Vegeta was in space, training. Ryu hit age 10 on January 9th.

As the two landed, Gohan immediately greeted Ryu.

"How's training been?"

"Fine. Yours?"

"Tiring."

Ryu smiled softly, and Gohan broke into a grin. Ryu glanced over at Bulma's arms, where she was holding a miniature version of Trunks. Ryu asked, "Is Yamcha the father?"

"No. You won't believe who is!" Yamcha started.

"Vegeta?" Goku guessed. Krillin and Gohan stared at him in surprise.

"How'd you know?" Bulma eyed him suspiciously.

"Trunks just looks like Vegeta, is all."

"How'd you know his name was Trunks?"

Goku finished the conversation with a nervous laugh, and Gohan and Krillin killed time by playing with Trunks. Bulma's watch beeped once it hit 10:00 AM, and the Z-Fighters hopped to their feet, scanning the city for any suspicious energy signatures.

"Nothing. Maybe the androids are running late." Piccolo growled.

A car dashed through air, and Yajirobe waved down at the Z-Fighters, exclaiming, "Hey, you goofs! You may need these Senzu-"

In an instant, his car shot up in flames, and he crashed down into a small lake near South City.

"Gohan, get Yajirobe and make sure he's okay! Bulma, stay here or go somewhere safe. Everybody else, split up! We're going on an android hunt!" Goku ordered everyone, and Ryu nodded, blasting off in his own direction.

Ryu landed in the city, scanning the energy signals around him. Ryu ran up to a couple, asking, "Have you seen anyone strange here? I have to find two androids before they hurt anyone."

"Aw, I'm afraid I haven't. Once you find those baddies, stop them for me and save us!" The woman smiled softly, crouching down. "Where are your parents, little guy?"

"Damn, he's gotta muscle." The man murmured softly, then his eyes scrunched up in confusion. "How'd someone as young as you get so bulky?"

 _They're treating me like a kid!_ Ryu's face darkened, his jaw dropping. Ryu shook his head, and ran off, his eyes snapping around as he searched for androids.

Ryu slowly closed his eyes, opening them to reveal the three doors in front of him, and he opened the one labeled " **RYOJIN** ", falling forward into the darkness that lied in the room.

Ryu's eyes popped open, and his eyes sparkled into a scarlet red color, his pupils slitting, a scale-like pattern drawing itself onto Ryu's cheeks, lower arms, and the back of his hands. Ryu's ears twitched as he used one ability he discovered he had in the three years of training: Enhanced hearing.

Ryu heard footsteps slamming around him, laughing and chattering echoing through the air. Ryu listened closer to each footstep, hearts beating in their chest. In one individual, Ryu heard no heartbeats.

Ryu closed in on the individual, pinpointing their location, and switched back to his Saiyan form, radiating energy in the palm of his right hand to shoot above the androids. Before he did, though, he froze in realization.

 _The Androids don't have energy signals. Can they not use ki? No, I doubt we'd lose to anyone without the ability of energy manipulation... So we just can't sense their ki._

Ryu snapped back into reality when he felt an energy signal begin to drop heavily. Ryu's eyes widened in horror as he recognized the energy signal. _Yamcha! Damn it, I zoned out! I could've prevented this!_

Ryu blasted towards the Androids, landing next to his father. An older-looking android was holding Yamcha by his face, his hand pierced straight through Yamcha's chest, and he stuck his hand out of Yamcha's chest, throwing him to the side. Krillin, Tien, and Piccolo landed near Goku, who's face was wrenched in anger.

 _"KRILLIN!_ Take Yamcha back to Yajirobe, quick! He has some senzu beans!" Goku ordered. Krillin leapt over to Yamcha, lifting him up, and shot off again. The androids glanced in his direction, but didn't bother to stop him. The plumper android's eyes shone as he scanned Goku.

"Son Goku found. Identical match." The android exclaimed momentarily afterwards.

"Thank you, Android 19. You're quite early, Goku. How did you know I was going to come here?" The elder android asked.

"A friend warned me. I'm just glad I arrived before you caused any trouble, Gero." Goku responded.

" _Doctor_ Gero to you. And don't worry... It's never too late to cause this trouble you speak of." Dr. Gero's eyes sparkled, then he shot a pair of bullets of energy in Ryu's direction. Ryu jumped to his right to dodge the attack, an explosion booming behind him as it made contact with a building. Dr. Gero twisted his head around as he fired multiple beams of energy around him. Goku lunged towards the android, ramming his fist into his cheek, sending him stumbling backwards, his hat falling off.

"Leave outsiders out of our battle! You wanted me, right?! You've got me! There's no reason for you to hurt anyone else." Goku barked. Dr. Gero stared at him from the corner of his eye, then rubbed the back of his hand on his cheek, lifting his hat back onto his head.

"...As you wish. We may go ahead and battle, but the battlefield will be chosen by me." Dr. Gero ordered, and Goku nodded slowly. An aura dressed itself around the two androids, and they shot off into the air, Goku, Tien, Piccolo, and Ryu following.

As they were flying, Piccolo noticed Ryu looked sad, which was strange, as the boy normally never showed how he was feeling through facial expressions. "You okay, kid?"

Ryu avoided eye contact with his mentor. "Yamcha nearly died because of me. I found the androids, but I spaced out, and didn't let you guys know in time. The next thing I know, Yamcha's dying."

Ryu's eyes teared up, and he dug the palms of his hands onto his eyes to stop himself from crying, but tears still streamed down his face. Ryu stopped, and Piccolo stopped in front of him.

"We just started, and I already messed up. I-I trained so hard for this, determined to make sure no one died, yet here I am, crying because I nearly failed. Am I even needed here? What if I'm just slowing you guys down? I'm just an inexperienced child trying to fit in with legends, I'm not-"

Piccolo sat his hand on Ryu's shoulder, his eyes softening. _Despite everything he's gone through, he's still a child. A strong child, always so calm, but... Pressure gets to the best of us, and it seems when Ryu gets pressured, he's unsure how to respond. He gets pessimistic. He still has room to grow, these moments help me as his mentor to know how to help him grow._

"Ryu... Everyone messes up. Don't stop and cry because you did, hold your head up and acknowledge your mistake and see what you can do to learn from it. You defeated Nappa, you defeated Recoome, and here you, ready to fight against these androids with us. You are strong." Piccolo moved Ryu's hands, staring at his beautiful, shining eyes. Ryu wiped the tears from his face, and nodded slowly. Ryu shot back towards his comrades, Piccolo right next to him.

"The androids don't give an energy signature we can sense." Ryu spoke up as he and Piccolo caught up with Goku and Tien.

"Great. That makes this more fun." Tien grinned.

The androids levitated down to an island, and the four followed. Once they landed, Goku walked forward slowly, Android 19 doing the same. Dr. Gero appeared above Tien, Piccolo, and Ryu, ordering, "You three come behind me. Interfere with their fight, and I will take your life, without hesitation."

The three of them slowly obeyed the android. Goku immediately began to charge up his ki, the ground trembling from the intense power Goku was radiating. With a scream, Goku's power skyrocketed, his hair spiking up into a glowing golden color, his eyes piercing into a turquoise color.

"T-That's a Super Saiyan?!" Tien, Piccolo, and Ryu exclaimed. Dr. Gero's eyes widened in surprise.

Goku whizzed towards Android 19, kneeing his face, then kicking him up into the air, shooting after him. Goku and Android 19 span around in a circle of close-combat, punches and kicks being thrown, dodged, blocked, and received. The two broke apart, and Goku shot a volley of blasts of energy at the android. The android extended his hands towards each blast, and as he did so, the energy blasts slowly disappeared.

 _Is he negating the energy blasts?_ Ryu watched on.

Goku and Android 19 were back at it in close-combat, then Goku elbowed the android's stomach, and pushed his hand forward, a shockwave sending the android crashing into a mountain.

Android 19 shot out of the dust from the impact, and head-butted Goku's face harshly. Goku bent his head backwards, and slammed his face into Android 19's, returning a head-butt. Android 19 uppercut Goku's ribs, and Goku kneed the android's chest. Goku slammed the heel of his right foot into the back of the android's head, grabbed his head, and threw him upwards, shooting a barrage of energy blasts at the android. Android 19 grinned, and as the palms of his hands touched each blast, the blasts disappeared.

"Hey, guys! Sorry I'm late." Yamcha exclaimed as he, Krillin, and Gohan landed near Tien, Piccolo, and Ryu. "What'd I miss?"

"Don't help Goku, or we'll all die personally from Dr. Gero, that guy." Tien explained, nodding towards Dr. Gero. "Goku's fighting Android 19, and, despite Goku's Super Saiyan form, it seems the two of them are equally matched."

"Goku should be destroying that guy. Wait- Did the android touch him? When Dr. Gero grabbed me, I felt drained, like he was sucking me of my energy- This sounds terribly wrong." Yamcha explained, giving Gohan a worried glance. Realization hit Ryu as Goku radiated energy into his cupped hands.

 _The androids don't nullify energy; They absorb it!_

"GOKU! THE ANDROIDS CAN ABSORB-" Piccolo started as he realized the same thing.

" _ **HAAAA!**_ " Goku shot a large blue beam of ki towards the android. With a laugh, Android 19 extended his right hand towards the beam, a red, button-like mechanical component in the palm of his hand sucking in the beam effortlessly. Android 19 shot towards Goku, clamping his hands together, and swinging them downwards onto the back of Goku's head, sending him crashing down to the ground.

Goku struggled back up to his feet, but when he did, he stumbled back down to his knee, panting heavily, clutching onto his chest. Realization pierced through Ryu.

 _The heart virus! Dad never took it because he felt fine!_ Ryu told Piccolo through telepathy.

 _We need to give him it, then! I'm going to try to help Goku, and doing that will probably get_ _Dr. Gero to attack me. I need you to distract him after I get hit. I'll be fine!_ Piccolo ordered briefly, then made a break for Android 19, who was sitting on top of Goku, his left hand strapped around his neck as he sucked the energy out of him. Dr. Gero shot a pair of bullets of energy straight into Piccolo's chest, and Piccolo fell to the ground, his eyes dulled.

 _He's faking it._ Ryu confirmed as Piccolo's energy signal didn't drop in the slightest.

Ryu faked an enraged scream, and he dashed towards Gero, punching his stomach. Dr. Gero stared down at the child, then kicked him away. Ryu flipped through the air, regaining himself, but froze when he saw Android 19 skidding across the ground, then narrowed his eyes when he saw who did it to the android.

Vegeta arrived.

"You idiot, didn't you know that using a Super Saiyan would speed up the process of your heart virus affecting you? It would make your heart work more, then whenever it got tired, it'd be more vulnerable to the heart virus." Vegeta kicked Goku towards the Z-Fighters, and Yamcha caught him.

"I'll take him to his medicine. Call me a coward, but I nearly died today. I'd like to keep it at nearly." Yamcha laughed nervously, then, after a final wave, he blasted off.

"You may know a little about me, Vegeta, but I know everything about you. Oh, yes, it will be fun stealing all of your energy." Android 19 grinned.

Vegeta smirked, "Not everything. I've got something new, particularly for you."

A golden aura of energy cloaked around Vegeta as he powered up his energy, his muscles bulging with raw energy and power. His eyes sparkled turquoise, his hair glowed golden, and, with a final scream, a crater cracked beneath his feet at the sheer amount of energy that exploded around him.

Vegeta transformed into a Super Saiyan.

"This took me a year to achieve, a year to control, and a year to strengthen to the maximum, and exceed even that! I won't be holding back, you bucket of bolts!" Vegeta smirked, and he dashed right in front of Android 19.

Vegeta kneed the android's face, elbowed his stomach, then whacked the back of his head with a punch, stopping him from falling face-first onto the ground by ramming his knee into the android's face.

Vegeta spun to his right once, mashing his left elbow into Android 19's head, then he span to his left, ramming his right leg into Android 19's side. Vegeta kneed the android's chin, then popped his leg upwards, kicking Android 19 into the sky. Using sheer speed, Vegeta appeared above the android, bicycle kicking him to the ground.

Vegeta crashed down onto the android's back, but as he did, the android clutched onto both of his wrists, grinning, "I've got you now! And I'm never going to let go!"

"Oh? Let's see if you'll stick to your word." Vegeta smirked, hopping up, planting his feet onto the android's face, and stretching. As he stretched, he ripped the android's hands right off of his arms, falling back to his feet and throwing the hands off of him. Android 19 gave Vegeta a horrified stare, then ran off, attempting to escape.

Vegeta levitated up into the air, and extended his right hand in front of him, radiating energy into a sphere of bright energy, pointing it straight at the fleeing android.

"See you in hell! _Big Bang Attack!_ " Vegeta fired the sphere of energy down onto the android, and a large wave of ki blasted through the air, followed by a large explosion of raw energy, Android 19 being consumed by the attack.

As the explosion died down, Dr. Gero didn't waste a second, fleeing immediately.

"Baldy, bean! Now!" Vegeta ordered.

"H-Huh?" Krillin's eyes widened in surprise.

"Give me one of those Senzu things! That last attack took a lot of ki from me, and I need to replenish it before I kill Dr. Gero!" Vegeta barked. Krillin tossed him a senzu, and Vegeta charged up his ki after he swallowed the bean, shooting off on Gero's direction.

 _I'm not gonna let Vegeta steal all the fun._ Ryu charged up his own energy, and blasted towards where Gero and Vegeta left to.

Ryu stopped in a wasteland, multiple pillars of rocks standing around, good places to hide. Ryu scanned and searched around the area to see if Gero was hiding nearby, then he heard Piccolo's voice echo in his head, _To your left!_

Ryu looked to his left, and he saw Gero wrapped around Piccolo, his hand clamped over his mouth as he stole his energy. Ryu's eyes span into a scarlet red color, his pupils slitting, and he landed on the ground, propelling himself towards Piccolo. Ryu was a blur as he whizzed through the air, punching Gero away from Piccolo. Ryu fell to the ground again, then hopped back up to Gero.

Ryu threw a punch, then a kick, dodged a kick, then locked into close-combat with Gero. Ryu bounced back, landing on a pillar, then jumped back towards Gero, head-butting his stomach harshly. Ryu flipped forward once, slamming the heel of his left foot onto Gero's head, sending him crashing to the ground. Gero jumped to his right to dodge Ryu from crashing into him, dust blowing up into the air around Ryu from the impact.

A fist was thrown from behind the dust, and it crashed into Gero's stomach, then Ryu punched Gero's face, kicked his side, then harshly kicked Gero's stomach, sending him flying backwards. Ryu sharpened his fingernails into claws, his eyes widening, a thought booming through his ears.

 _ **Kill him.**_

Ryu's eyes softened as he returned a thought.

 _No._

Ryu shot towards Gero, scratching his right leg, then blocked a kick, dodged a barrage of punches, then crashed onto the ground as Gero kicked him downwards. Gero radiated energy in the palms of his hands, and he threw a volley of blasts of energy at the young boy. Ryu rolled backwards onto his hands, then threw himself backwards, barely dodging a large explosion as the blasts of energy made contact with the ground.

Ryu flipped numerous times backwards, then jumped towards Gero, whizzing through the air, and crashed his fist into Gero's stomach, blood spilling out of his mouth, his eyes dulling. Ryu flipped up above Gero, sitting his left hand on Gero's back.

 _I don't know how to properly use and manipulate this form's energy, but I learned this._ Ryu thought.

Ryu charged up his energy, and converted the energy in the palm of his hand into a fiery, explosive energy. Ryu exhaled sharply, and an explosion of raw energy boomed, sending Gero crashing onto the ground.

"What're you doing?" Ryu heard Trunks ask suddenly.

"Fighting Dr. Gero, who made himself into an android. Vegeta killed the other one." Ryu replied, landing into the ground.

"That's not one of the androids..."

"Yes, he is." Piccolo insisted, but Trunks shook his head.

"No, there was a male, black hair, orange bandana. A female, blonde hair, blue jacket." Trunks explained, and his eyes shone when none of the Z-Fighters recognized who he was explaining. "Does this mean Dr. Gero didn't activate them yet? We can still stop him!"

"Oh? I'll go activate them for you, since you wish to a them!" Gero grinned.

"Not while we're fighting." Ryu slid into a stance quickly. In that moment, an aircraft containing Bulma, baby Trunks, and Yajirobe flew nearby, Bulma sticking her tongue out playfully and waving.

"What's the woman doing here?!" Vegeta barked.

 _Just what I needed..._ Gero waved his arm horizontally as he shot a wave of energy towards the aircraft. Ryu froze, time seeming to slow as he had to make a choice.

 _Save Bulma, Yajirobe, and Trunks, letting Gero escape...?_ Ryu glanced at the aircraft that was sent aflame, spinning in havoc.

 _Or stop Gero, potentially saving multiple lives...?_ Ryu glanced at Gero, a blur as he dashed away.

Ryu glanced back towards the aircraft, seeing Trunks leap up to make sure the three inside were okay. Since Trunks was dealing with the aircraft, Ryu switched back to his Saiyan form, blasting off towards where Gero fled.f

 _I won't let Trunks' warning go to waste!_


	12. More Androids! Enter Cell

Disclaimer: All rights go to their respected owners.

* * *

Ryu levitated down to ground as he caught up with Gero, switching back to his Ryojin form, his eyes swirling into a scarlet red color, his pupils slitting. Ryu cut at Gero's leg, the two of them rolling on the ground. Ryu regained himself, and sharpened his fingernails into claws.

"Damn you... Damn you all! I will still be victorious! You cannot defeat machinery... It is limitless!" Dr. Gero bellowed with rage.

"You know, we can stop this now. We don't have to fight. Just... Give up. Don't do this." Ryu tried to reason.

"I've come too far to lie down and surrender. The only way I'll stop is when death knocks me down!"

"If you won't stop, then I have no choice, but..." Ryu's face darkened. A beast appeared behind him, and closed his hands over the young boy. Ryu's eyes pierced onto his target.

 _ **KILL HIM.**_

Ryu shoot towards Gero, kicking his neck harshly, then spun to his left, elbowing his face, sending him stumbling backwards. Gero kicked Ryu's side, punched his stomach, then clamped his hands together, swinging them down onto Ryu's back as the young boy crashed against the ground. thumb

Ryu rolled to his left to dodge Gero from crushing his face with his fist, then bent backwards to dodge a blast of energy. Ryu swung his face forward, head-butting Gero's face, then Ryu stabbed Gero's right leg with his left hand's thumb's razor-sharp fingernail. Gero uppercut Ryu's stomach, harshly, Ryu's eyes dulling from the blow, then Gero clutched onto his mouth as he began to steal Ryu's energy.

Ryu kicked Gero's chin, flipping to his feet as Gero stumbled backwards from the blow, and Ryu dropped to his left knee, swirling around on his knee, using his right foot to sweep Gero's feet off the ground, causing Gero to fall forwards. Ryu clenched his right hand into a fist, and he spun around on his knee once more, crashing the back of his right fist into the side of Gero's head, sending him flying to his side, then skidding on his side. Ryu stood up, and slid towards Gero slowly.

Ryu grabbed Gero by the collar of his shirt with his left hand, sharpening his claws in his right hand, and lifted his right hand for the final blow, his eyes shining.

 _I don't want to kill anyone._

Ryu's eyes softened as that thought rang in his head, his claws changing back to fingernails. Ryu slowly let go of Gero, but as he did, Gero crashed his fist into his stomach, kicking him off off him. Gero hopped towards his laboratory once more. Ryu coughed, blood leaking from his mouth as he slowly slid up to his knees, slowly standing up, his mind racing.

 _You could've saved us, Ryu._ A bloody, beaten Goku murmured, then he suddenly grasped onto Ryu. _Why...? Why... Did... You... Not...?_

Piccolo lifted Ryu out of Goku's hands, throwing him down into the depths of darkness, growling, _You're a waste of our time. We failed, and we failed because of you!_

 _I almost died because of you and your stupid mistake, asshole!_ Yamcha's voice echoed.

 _I don't even know why such a weakling is getting in our way. Who's side are you on?_ Tien's blunt voice rang.

 _Pathetic. And you dare call yourself a Saiyan?!_ Vegeta's voice barked.

 _I'm ashamed to be called your brother. This would all be better if you were never born in the first place!_ Gohan boomed.

 _ **YOU'RE A MONSTER.**_

Ryu stood up to his feet, trembling, breathing heavily. His eyes welled up with tears, but he blinked them away, shifting to his Saiyan form, his piercing, icy blue eyes returning. An aura of energy cloaked around him as he blasted off in the direction Gero left in.

 _I am NOT just going to sit here and let people die!_

Ryu caught up with Gero as he neared his laboratory, and he switched back to his Ryojin form, his eyes swirling around into a scarlet red color, his pupils slitting. Ryu landed on a boulder, propelling himself off of it as he dashed through the air towards the laboratory door, which Gero was shutting. Ryu extended his hand as he neared him, but his hand only made contact with the door.

Ryu threw his fist at the door, but it didn't faze it. Ryu banged loudly on the door, exclaiming, "Open up, you coward!"

The rest of the Z-Fighters arrived, and Trunks' eyes shrunk as he mumbled, "We're too late..."

"If you're going to give up when something as stupid as a door gets in your way, you can just go home! We don't need weaklings like you!" Vegeta radiated energy in the palm of his right hand into an orb of energy, then fired it onto the door, an explosion from the impact dusting smoke into the air.

When the smoke died down, the door was completely destroyed, and two teenagers that fit exactly into Trunks' description of the androids that killed everyone in the future stood in the laboratory. When Trunks saw the two, he let out a scream as rage consumed him, his eyes glowing turquoise and his hair spiking golden, and he fired a beam of energy into the lab, an explosion booming. Ryu barely managed to grab Gohan, and jumped out of the way, rolling on the ground.

As the explosion died down, Ryu lifted his head to bark at Trunks, "A warning?"

"I'm sorry... But, at least the androids are gone." Trunks sighed.

"What makes you think that? You didn't even give them a scratch." Vegeta pointed to a mountain, where, on the top of it, the two androids stood over a small, coffin-like machine.

"Wakey, wakey, Android "16". My name's Android 17, and yours is Android 18. Can't we get any cooler names?" Android 17 sighed.

Trunks froze, his eyes widening, "T-There's a third android?!"

"If you're gonna bother to come back and warn us, give us some correct information!" Vegeta scowled.

"I told you everything that happened in my timeline! I think me coming here cause a butterfly effect of some sort." Trunks countered.

"Then you should've stayed home-" Vegeta started, then his eyes widened as the two androids and a tall, muscular android flew off. "Are... Are they leaving me? Get back here!"

"Maybe we should see if there's anything else Trunks changed by coming here." Piccolo proposed. Vegeta froze.

"Trunks? That's... That's the name of my son!" Vegeta stared at Trunks, then his eyes widened in horror. "You look like him, too...! But how...?"

"I'm from the future, Father. Your son from the future." Trunks admitted reluctantly. Vegeta stared past his son, then he powered up, a cloak of golden energy surrounding him as he blasted off towards the androids.

 _Vegeta was speechless?! That's a first._ Ryu's face darkened. Trunks cloaked energy around him, then shot off in the direction of his father. Ryu powered up, then followed him, the rest of the Z-Fighters following him.

Ryu changed into his Ryojin form as he neared the battlefield, where Android 18 was standing over an unconscious Vegeta, an enraged Super Saiyan Trunks dashing towards her. Ryu's eyes span intro a scarlet red color, his pupils slitting, his fingernails sharpening into claw-like razors. Ryu rolled on the ground as he landed, and he jumped to aid Trunks against Android 18, but he felt a heavy blow to his stomach, his eyes dulling from the impact.

Ryu regained himself, then cut at his attacker: Android 17. The android dodged the slashes effortlessly, then kicked Ryu to a wall, crashing his knee into the young boy's stomach, then shot a blast of energy at him, an explosion booming as the blast made contact with Ryu. Ryu fell to the ground with a thud, his eyes half-closing as he lost consciousness.

* * *

"Down the drain." Krillin murmured as he slid a senzu bean into Ryu's mouth. Ryu slowly chewed it up, then swallowed, his eyes widening as he regained consciousness, his injuries completely healed. Ryu gave Krillin a nod of gratitude.

With an infuriated cry, Piccolo blasted off into the air. Ryu powered up his energy, and, after a wave, he shot towards his mentor.

Once Ryu caught up with the demon, Ryu asked, "Where are we going?"

"You never met him. His name is Kami, the guardian of earth, and I'm his dark side. If we fuse, we'll be the strongest being yet." Piccolo explained.

"Why didn't you two fuse sooner?"

"The Dragon Balls won't be able to be used."

 _...We must really be at a disadvantage against these androids if Piccolo's willing to lose the Dragon Balls for power. Will it be enough?_ Ryu worried.

As the two continued, they arrived at Kami's Lookout. Mr. Popo tripped out of Piccolo's way as the demon walked straight up to an elderly-looking Namekian, growling, "You know why I'm here. We don't stand a chance against the androids as we are now."

"Yes, but the Dragon Balls... I am earth's guardian, so I don't fancy the idea of me just leaving it in the palms of you and your friends' hands. I must contribute to it's safety." Kami replied, walking over to the edge of his lookout to look down on earth.

"What can _you_ do? The kid could take you on! If you really want to protect earth, then you won't sit here, watching as the people you're supposed to be protecting are dying! You know you're too old to do anything. The best way to contribute to the safety of this planet is to help me out. We need to fuse." Piccolo barked back. Kami didn't respond, instead he just stared down on the planet he was destined to guard.

 _I feel this is some personal matters I shouldn't be in the way of..._ Ryu's face darkened. Minutes passed as Piccolo waited patiently for Kami to see he was right.

A strange, burning feeling buzzed in Ryu's head, then it changed to a soft, sweet feeling _. This is Dad's energy!_

The energy shifted to a steady, calming feeling, and Ryu glanced at his mentor in confusion. _This is... Piccolo-sensei's energy...?_

"Surely you feel that energy, Kami. You're the guardian of earth, correct? Go down and stop it! Protect your planet!" Piccolo growled, and before he could add anything else, Kami spun to face him, nodding slowly.

"I see your point, Piccolo. Mr. Popo, please keep an eye on the lookout. Thank you for everything." Kami's lips curved into a wrinkly smile. "Come close, Piccolo. I'll fuse myself into you."

Piccolo slid in front of Kami, and the old Namekian sat his right hand on Piccolo's chest. Kami let pit a cry, then the entire lookout was blinded by light as energy glowed around the two. Ryu covered his eyes with his arms, then lowered them once the light died down, electricity sparking around Piccolo.

Mr. Popo's eyes welled up, right on the brink of tears, and called out softly, "K-Kami...?"

Piccolo turned to face him slowly, responding softly, "...Kami is no more."

Tears flowed down Mr. Popo's cheeks, and Ryu stepped forward to comfort him. Piccolo barked at Ryu, "If you're coming, then come on. We have business to attend to."

The demon shot off immediately, so Ryu, exchanging glances with Mr. Popo once more, dashed after him towards the strange energy signature they sensed.

Piccolo stopped over a deserted city suddenly, levitating to the ground slowly. Ryu landed next to him, glancing around in confusion. Piccolo glared into a dark alley, growling, "I know you're there. Come on out."

Footsteps echoed throughout the alley, and a green monster revealed himself, throwing a helpless man in front of him. The man made eye contact with Piccolo, and pulled out a stack of zeni, crying out, "P-Please! Save me, and all this is yours. This and more! Please! I have a family!"

Piccolo glanced at Ryu from the corner of his eyes, and shook his head slowly. Ryu clenched his fists, squeezing his eyes shut as he heard the green monster stab the man with a strange tail he had, the man's scream ringing in Ryu's ears. Ryu snapped his eyes open, their color changing into a scarlet red, his pupils slitting, and he glared at the monster, bones lying where the man once had.

"What are you, you freak of nature?!" Piccolo barked.

The monster cried, energy exploding around him as he powered up, throwing both Ryu and Piccolo back in surprise. The monster's lips curled up in a grin as he growled, "I'm your brother."

In an instant, the monster was behind both Piccolo and Ryu, and he delivered a sharp kick to Piccolo's side, sending him flying to his left. Ryu spun around, but before he could attack, the monster's elbow crashed onto his nose. The monster threw a kick, but Piccolo grabbed his foot before it hit the young boy.

 _I'll handle this guy. You can jump in if I can't_ _take him_. Piccolo's voice echoed in Ryu's head. Ryu nodded slowly, and he reverted back to his Saiyan form, leaping out of the two's way, observing their battle.

The monster leapt back at Piccolo, but was blown back by a sudden wave of energy. Piccolo growled, and energy exploded around him as he powered up, vibrating violently from the energy he was increasing and exerting.

A smirk crept on the demon's face as he said, "Piccolo...? No... Piccolo... Is no more. Kami... Is no more. I'm the nameless namekian. I am the one who will defeat you. I... Am a Super Namekian!"

Piccolo, a streak of light as he dashed towards his opponent, landed a swift combo of kicks across the monster's body, then kicked him upwards. Piccolo extended his right arm as it energized through the air, but the monster simply dodged it by jumping to his left. Piccolo appeared next to his opponent, and bicycle kicked him downwards, sending him flying downwards to the ground. The monster flipped to his feet as he regained himself, then jumped back up at Piccolo, throwing an avalanche of rapid punches and kicks. Piccolo dodged each attack easily, then began to throw his own punches at the monster.

Piccolo used his left knee to block a punch, then he mashed his foot into the monster's stomach, the monster straggling backwards slowly from the blow. A deep cry exited Piccolo's mouth, and he crashed his right fist onto the monster's cheek, then kneed the monster's face as he began to fall down, lifting him back up. Piccolo radiated energy in the palms of both of his hands, and he thrusted then forward rapidly, shooting blasts of energy at a point-blank range, explosions booming in front of him as he continued his assault.

A tail shot out of the smoke from the attacks Piccolo hurled, and Piccolo jumped to his left, barely dodging a stab from a sharp needle at the end of the monster's tail. The monster jumped out of the smoke, completely unfazed, and he swung his right leg diagonally downwards onto Piccolo, who raised his left arm up as he blocked the blow. Piccolo grabbed a punch thrown at his side, then smashed his right foot onto the side of the monster's head with a roundhouse kick, purple blood streaming down the monster's chin. Piccolo clamped both of his hands together, lifting them over his head, then swung them downwards onto the monster's head, sending him flying downwards once more. The monster flipped as he neared the ground, landing on all fours as cracks snapped on the ground. Piccolo glared down at his opponent with a sense of superiority.

The monster slowly stood back up, and he let out a slow, low-pitched chuckle as he slowly moved his hands in front of him, sitting them on each other and cupping them. He slowly moved them back to his waist, murmuring, "Kaaa..."

Piccolo's eyes widened as a blue sphere of energy spiraled into the monster's hand, glowing and increasing in size and power as he radiated more and more energy into his hands, chanting, "Meee... _Haaa... Meee..."_

Ryu's eyes widened in surprise as realization ran into him, _He switched his energy signal into Dad's... And he's using Dad's ability, too?!_

" _HAAA!_ " The monster cried, lunging his arms towards Piccolo as a bright, blue beam of raw energy shot towards him.

Piccolo levitated down to the ground, barely dodging the beam, and dashed back towards the monster, kneeing his stomach harshly with his right knee, and lifting his left knee upwards to his chin as he kneed his chin. The monster headbutted Piccolo's forehead, and cried as he powered up his energy, throwing Piccolo back. Piccolo regained himself, then his eyes widened once more as he watched the monster direct his energy to his index and middle fingertips, electricity sparking around his face as he lifted his fingers to his forehead.

 _Now... His energy is Piccolo-sensei's, and he's using Piccolo-sensei's attack. Does his energy change every time he uses someone else's technique? How does he know these techniques to begin with?_

" _Makankosappo!_ " The monster threw his fingers towards Piccolo, and shot a purple-golden, spiraling beam of energy at the demon.

Piccolo lifted his right hand, and he backslapped the beam away from him, no damage done. The monster charged back at Piccolo, missing a kick as the demon vanished into thin air, then appeared behind the monster, delivering a sharp kick to his back, sending him flying forwards. Cell regained himself, and leapt back at Piccolo, shooting multiple energy blasts at him, dust smoking up as the blasts exploded around him. An energy blast dashed through the smoke towards Piccolo, but he jumped to his right, barely dodging it. The monster suddenly appeared behind Piccolo, wrapped his arms around Piccolo to restrain him, and stabbed his left arm with his tail, slowly sucking up lumps of the demon's energy.

 _Should I... Do I need to jump in now?_ Ryu asked Piccolo telekinetically. Instead of replying, Piccolo smashed the back of his head onto Cell's face, spun around, and kicked him away from him. Cell landed, and prepared to jump back at Piccolo, but Piccolo held up his right arm to stop him, the only arm he could move.

"Wait. It's clear... That I cannot fight any longer. I'm at too great a disadvantage. But before you kill me, tell me who you are." Piccolo demanded. Ryu held his breath as the monster stared at the demon momentarily, then slowly relaxed.

"Since you're going to die, I don't mind giving you a bit of information. My name... Is **Cell.** I'm a bio-android, created by Dr. Gero himself. My mission is find the Android 17 and 18, and absorb them, to reach pure perfection! The attacks that I showed you earlier is part of my special ability. I have the cells and DNA of the strongest warriors to exist! Frieza, Tien, and you, Piccolo. That's why I am your brother." Cell explained eerily.

"You're another android made by Dr. Gero?! When did he activate you?" Piccolo asked, trying to dig deeper into the situation, and trying to buy himself more time.

"I'm afraid that I won't go there. This self-introductory scene is done now, and we're going straight to the killing!" Cell grinned.

A blur streaked towards Cell, and Ryu crashed his right leg onto the side of his head, kicking him harshly into a building, then hopped towards his mentor to protect him while he waited to regenerate for his lost arm.

"Good job, kid." Piccolo smirked. Cell slowly walked out of the building, his eyes stabbing onto Ryu, an amusing smile planting on his face. Before the monster could fight the young boy, Piccolo grabbed his left arm, and ripped it straight off of his body, then a new, strong arm slid out of his wound, replacing his old, unusable arm. Cell crouched as he prepared himself to continue his fight, but he glared up at three streaks of light landing near him: Tien, Trunks, and Krillin.

"Wh-What is that thing?!" Krillin gaped in terror.

"It seems... That we're interrupted. I'd rather not make too much of a fuss... Not yet." Cell slowly raised his hands to the sides of his face, fingers apart, a grin on his face. Tien's eyes widened, and he opened his mouth to warn his comrades, but Cel was faster, shouting, " _Tai-o-ken!_ "

As bright as the sun, a devastatingly bright light radiated from Cell's forehead, blinding everyone around him. As he blinded the warriors, he was a blur as he escaped. The light died down, but the fighter's eyes were still damaged from the attack.

"He knows that technique? I've never even heard of him before! There's no way the Crow Hermit could've taught it to him!" Tien barked as he rubbed his eyes furiously, trying to regain his eyesight as quickly as possible.

"He said he was a bio-android created by Dr. Gero, and he has the DNA of warriors like you, so I'm assuming that's the way he got that ability, and other abilities as well. This is probably why he's named Cell." Ryu explained the small bit of information he received briefly, his eyesight slowly returning.

"Damn it...! He escaped because of me!" Tien growled, but Trunks sat his hand on his shoulder, his eyes wide as he slowly regained his eyesight.

"It's not your fault. It's Gero's, and it's Cell's. We need to stop Cell and the androids now." Trunks reassured him, and Tien nodded slowly.

"Maybe we should go and check out Gero's place to see if there's any other androids. We train to stop the four androids we got for a few days and then we have an army of them." Krillin proposed. Trunks nodded slowly.

"Yeah, that's not a bad idea. Let's go ahead and get this over with." Trunks agreed.

"I'll accompany you. You don't know what's there." Ryu offered, and Trunks and Krillin nodded in gratitude. Ryu glanced back at Piccolo, and waved slowly at his mentor. Piccolo nodded, and Ryu blasted off with his two comrades towards Dr. Gero's lab.


	13. Bit of Hope! The Room of Time and Space

Disclaimer: All rights go to their respected owners.

* * *

The three arrived at Dr. Gero's laboratory quickly, Krillin shivering from the sudden appearance of the cold. Trunks looked around the laboratory that Dr. Gero was murdered in, but he didn't find anything new.

"I hear something nearby." Ryu murmured softly as he switched to his Ryojin form, his pupils slitting and his eyes swirling into a bloody red color. Trunks look around slowly, then stared at the ground.

"You think there's something underground?" Krillin asked. Trunks nodded slowly, and Ryu switched back to his Saiyan form, his eyes swirling back into an icy blue color and his pupils returning to normal. Krillin then said, "That's a pretty strange technique."

Ryu nodded slowly in agreement, then radiated energy in the palms of his hands, lifting his hands over his head. He sat his left hand behind his right, a large orb of energy radiating in the palm of his right hand, and he thrusted it onto the ground after Trunks and Krillin leapt back, a large explosion smoking up into the air. As the dust cleared, there was a large hole in the ground, showing the entrance to a secret, underground lab. Ryu glanced at his comrades, then hopped down into the hole, landing on the ground softly. He walked deeper inside, looking around curiously. He arrived in a dark lab, and he began looking at some paperwork, Trunks and Krillin investigating the place as well.

"Huh. Based on these papers, this little guy is Cell." Krillin tapped on the glass of a tube with liquid inside, and a tiny life-form inside. Trunks' eyes widened in surprise.

"That's Cell?! Dr. Gero must've made two of them. But why...?" Trunks thought out loud.

"The same reason he made one monster made to kill people. He's a maniac." Krillin responded, and, without hesitation, shot a beam of energy through the glass, killing the mini-Cell instantly.

"Did we have to kill it? It didn't do anything yet... Maybe we could've trained it to become good!" Trunks spoke sadly.

"We can't risk lives like that, Trunks. We had to make a choice. And this is the choice that saves lives."

"Speaking of saving lives..." Ryu spoke up, lifting a few pieces of paper. "These papers are the blueprints that Gero made for some sort of device to shut down the androids."

"Really?! I can give these to my mom, and she can make her own version of this! Our own android detonator!" Trunks grinned, and he held onto the papers.

After their discovery, they didn't find anything else helpful in stopping the androids. Krillin blasted multiple energy beams at the place, fire smoking up around the place, then the three leapt out of the place. Krillin hurled a final blast of energy down into the hole of the place, flames spiraling up into the sky. The three cloaked energy around them, and blasted off to give Bulma the blueprints they found.

Momentarily, they arrived at Kame House, greeting and being greeted by the Z-Fighters there. Trunks walked over to his mother, and told her everything that they found in the underground lab. Ryu glanced around, then asked his younger brother, "Where's Piccolo-sensei?"

"The androids managed to find us. Piccolo took them away from us, and he's fighting them. Tien went over to help." Gohan explained briefly. Ryu nodded slowly, and, before he could even take a step, Gohan added, "Don't go help him. We both know he can handle himself."

 _I want to believe that, but..._ Ryu sighed.

Yamcha, who made sure to give Goku his medicine every hour, walked upstairs to do just that. He then ran back downstairs, exclaiming in a panicked tone, "Goku's gone!"

Chichi dashed upstairs, Gohan, Krillin, Master Roshi, and Ryu following her. Chichi reached his room, gasping when she saw where Goku was lying was just numerous blankets sitting on top of each other, the window wide open. Chichi glanced around outside the window, but was thrown backwards as the ground began to shake violently. Ryu squinted outside, and he saw a large, blue beam shooting across the ocean that surrounded the island they were on. Ryu could sense who's energy was outside, and he smiled softly.

Chichi hopped out the window once she regained herself, followed by Gohan, and they ran up to the man who caused the mini-earthquake. Ryu leapt down to his brother's side, and his father sat his hand on his head, ruffling his hair.

"Sorry to worry you guys. I know all about what's been going on, so don't worry about explaining. I even have a plan." Goku smiled softly, then he gave an excited grin. "Normal training won't be enough to beat these androids. We'll need serious training. And I know just the place."

Chichi's face snapped from an overjoyed expression to an infuriated one in the blink of an eye, but she closed her eyes calmly, responding, "Don't be gone for too long. And don't nearly get killed again."

"Thanks, Chichi. You're the best." Goku smiled softly, then left to change out of his tattered clothing. Chichi patted Ryu's head, and gave Gohan's head a kiss.

"Get strong for me." She smiled brightly. The two children nodded enthusiastically.

Goku arrived out of Kame House with a new gi that Master Roshi gave him, nodding at Krillin, "Kami's Tower. Take Gohan and Ryu with you, I'm gonna grab Vegeta and Trunks."

Before Goku could be questioned, he sat his index and middle finger on his forehead, and vanished. Krillin stared at the ground as he processed what happened, then powered up his energy, a cloak of energy shining around him. He waved goodbye to Chichi and Master Roshi, then shot off towards Kami's Tower, Gohan and Ryu following.

Moments later, they curved upwards, and shot up into the sky. Ryu closed his eyes as he soared through clouds, and his eyes widened in surprise as he stared at a temple-like place flying in the air in disbelief. Krillin shot towards it, the two children behind him following, and greeted Mr. Popo.

"Has Kami successfully defeated that monster?" Mr. Popo asked.

"He didn't. Piccolo's fighting the androids right now, but the monster, Cell, is still out there." Ryu explained with a shake of his head.

"Oh... Then what brings you three here?"

As the question was asked, a blur appeared next to Krillin, and Goku, Vegeta, and Trunks arrived in the blink of an eye. Vegeta glared at Goku, scowling, "You'd better not waste my time. What's this training you have in mind?"

"The Hyperbolic Time Chamber." Goku nodded at Mr. Popo to let him do the explaining.

"The Room of Spirit and Time is a parallel universe from this one. It's an infinite one. The deeper you go, the denser the air gets, the worse the temperature gets. You can only enter twice in your life, and only two people can enter at a time. You can stay in for a day at maximum, which is equivalent to one year in the Room of Spirit and Time." Mr. Popo explained briefly.

"Sounds interesting enough. Me and the boy will go in first." Vegeta walked through the door that Mr. Popo held open, entering the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, Trunks slowly following.

"Alright, guys. Now we just wait for them to be done." Goku said as he slowly sat down on the steps leading to the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. Gohan gave him a crazed look.

"So we just do nothing?! I know you can sense Piccolo's energy, it's depleting slowly! We should go and help him." Gohan retorted.

"That's Piccolo's battle, son. I won't let you go and die fighting it with him." Goku responded. Gohan grit his teeth, obviously disliking his father's decision, but he kept his mouth shut. Ryu glanced at his brother, then his father, but he continued to stay silent.

Moments turned into what felt like eternity, and Gohan shook his head furiously, barking, "Piccolo _really_ needs our help, Dad! I can sense that Cell guy near him!"

"I already told you no, Gohan. Piccolo went into this fight himself, so he'll finish it himself." Goku replied coolly. Gohan clenched his fists tightly, but obeyed. Ryu watched Gohan, and his eyes softened.

 _He's losing it. One more push and he'll-_ Ryu began, but his thoughts were knocked off balance when he sensed Piccolo's energy completely deplete. Everything around Ryu disappeared into a space of white light, and an image of Piccolo's corpse flashed around him.

Ryu blinked once, then charged up his energy, a cloak of energy wrapping around him, and he shot off in Piccolo's direction, throwing Goku and Gohan off guard. Energy cloaked around Gohan, and he shot off behind Ryu. Goku used sheer speed to appear in front of Ryu, and he punched him harshly, sending him bumping backwards into Gohan, the two falling down. Mr. Popo helped the two up, and Goku sighed.

"...I'm sorry about that. But this isn't your fight, and it isn't your responsibility to make sure Piccolo's okay." Goku murmured softly, and he sat his index and middle finger on his forehead. "It's mine."

In an instant, he disappeared, and in the next, he reappeared, Piccolo and Tien in his arms. He sat the two down, and Krillin walked forehead, giving them both a Senzu Bean. The two were up in an instant, and Gohan and Ryu immediately ran to Piccolo's side, the demon patting the two's heads.

"Fighting the androids wasn't such a great idea. Cell used your unordinary spike of power to his advantage." Tien told Piccolo bitterly.

"I didn't have much of a choice. The androids came to _us_ , and I was the strongest defender available. Goku would've been killed." Piccolo retorted.

"And look where that got you. Cell got one of the androids, and he nearly has the other one!" Tien remarked.

"And what would you do?!" Piccolo barked back.

Tien bit bark another remark, and Goku spoke up, "Come on, guys. We need to work together here. Piccolo saved my life, and that's all that matters. We need to train to stop Cell. For now... We'll just have to hope Cell doesn't find the other android."

Tien nodded slowly, and Piccolo growled an agreement. The Z-Fighters sat around, waiting for Vegeta and Trunks to finish patiently.

Hours later, Mr. Popo called for Goku and Gohan, "Your friends are done."

Vegeta and Trunk stepped out of the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, Trunks looking much older, his hair in a ponytail, his clothes ripped and torn. Vegeta didn't look much older, his clothes torn slightly.

"Don't bother going in. I'll defeat Cell, and the androids, myself." Vegeta told Goku as he walked past him, preparing to go and fight Cell.

"We'll see about that." Goku replied with a grin. Vegeta smirked, and he shot off. Trunks started after him, but he stopped when he saw his mother flying up in an aircraft. She landed on the Lookout, and stepped out, carrying a large suitcase. Bulma sat it down, then pressed a button on it, Saiyan-like gi lying in front of the Z-Fighters.

"I've been working on this all night. It's an exact replica of Vegeta's suit, except it's even more durable. Have at it." Bulma nodded. Goku, Gohan, and Trunks slipped on the suits quickly, and Trunks, after telling his mother goodbye, blasted off after his father. Piccolo, Tien, Krillin, and Ryu chose to keep the gi they had.

"Oh, and Krillin, I finished up the android detonator. You'll need to be within a 30 meter distance for it to activate, though. After that, just the button, and humanity is saved from mass genocide." Bulma explained briefly.

"And you're giving it to _me_ because...?" Krillin asked in surprise.

"Are you going in the Hyperbolic Time Chamber?" Bulma asked, and Krillin nodded.

"I'll go get this over with, then." Krillin cloaked energy around him, then blasted off. Goku glanced at Ryu.

"Me and Gohan will go in first. Then you and I can go in." Goku explained, but Piccolo shook his head.

"I'll go with Ryu. You focus on Gohan." Piccolo proposed, and Goku nodded in agreement and gratitude. The two Saiyans stepped inside the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, and the door shut softly.

"One more day, kid. One more day." Piccolo closed his eyes softly, and fell into a meditation. Ryu sat down, staring off into the sky as he waited for his turn to arrive.

As time progressed, Ryu sensed a power level spike, and his eyes narrowed as he recognized it as Vegeta's. _Once I get in the Room of Time and Space, I'll surpass him._

After a few moments, Ryu felt Cell's energy begin to explode, and just sensing it sent chills down his spine. Ryu's mind raced, and it sped up when Piccolo barked in terror, "Cell's got the other android!"

"Vegeta and Trunks combined should be more than enough to defeat that guy, though. Right?" Tien murmured in disbelief.

"We'll have to see. Why didn't Krillin use the detonator?! Was he just too slow?" Piccolo growled. Ryu stared at the ground, calming himself down.

As moments passed, Vegeta's energy slowly depleted, Cell and Trunks' not changing in the least. Ryu began to shiver with worry, thinking, _Why doesn't Trunks help Vegeta? I know of the Saiyan rule, but I would think Trunks would be smart enough to not listen to it._

In a flash, Vegeta's energy skyrocketed, and he began to feel the earth itself tremble at the high amount of energy Vegeta was charging up.

"Is he stupid!? An attack with that much power could wipe out the earth in seconds!" Tien spoke in bewilderment. Piccolo glared down at the earth in disbelief, but didn't say anything. Ryu held onto the Lookout tightly as the place shook, then it stopped as a shockwave of energy blasted around the earth, a large, golden beam of energy shooting up into the sky. Tien sighed relievedly, "He moved the direction of the blast in time. I guess he's not completely crazy after all."

"He's not crazy, and he's not accurate, either. Cell's still alive!" Piccolo growled.

"I'm sure that they can deal with Cell now. His energy decreased heavily."

"No, Cell has the DNA of all of us, including me and my regeneration abilities! And he has the DNA of a Saiyan, meaning every near-death experience only makes him stronger!" Piccolo growled. Tien stared down at the earth in bewilderment, and face-palmed as he felt Cell's energy increase as he regenerated, becoming even stronger than before. Not only that, but Cell defeated Vegeta quickly, his energy depleting.

"We just can't win, can we?" Tien sighed.

Ryu felt Vegeta's energy return back to normal, Krillin's energy nearby, so he assumed Krillin gave him a Senzu Bean. After Vegeta's energy was restored, Ryu sensed Trunks' energy increase, surpassing his father's, and even Cell's. _He's strong, but an energy level of that magnitude will increase his mass. I don't think he'd be fast enough to land a blow._

Ryu continued to sense on the battle below, but it wasn't a long one. Trunks' energy soon dropped back down to his original level. _He must've found the flaw._

The two energy signatures stood still, so Ryu assumed that they were having a conversation. After a few moments, Cell's energy blasted off in a random direction, and Trunks' energy started to close in on the Lookout, along with Vegeta and Krillin. Ryu's eyes softened as despair bit him. _Our last hope is Dad... And maybe Gohan, too._

Trunks, Vegeta, and Krillin all arrived on the Lookout, and Vegeta gave a scowl as Piccolo glared at him, growling, "Thanks for dooming everyone."

"Can it! I just wanted to have a little bit of fun." Vegeta barked back.

"At the cost of the planet? Smooth move." Tien rolled his eyes.

"Guys, not right now. As you can see, Cell didn't kill us. This means we can still fight! It's not over yet." Krillin spoke up, and silence hit everyone.

"Cell didn't kill us. He has better things in mind. Unfortunately, I don't know of the details yet. I only know that he's hosting a tournament, and he'll explain all of the details on television later." Trunks explained briefly.

"Why would he do that? Wouldn't it be easier to just destroy the planet?" Tien murmured, confused.

"Cell doesn't want to destroy the world. He wants to test his abilities, to find someone who can give him a challenge, as Saiyans wish. He wants to have fun." Vegeta explained.

"Then we'll give him the greatest time of his life. He'll explain everything while me and Ryu are in the Room of Time and Space, so make sure to fill us in whenever we come out." Piccolo grinned. Trunks nodded slowly.

"Speaking of the Room of Time and Space," Mr. Popo called out, the door to the Room of Time and Space opening slowly. "Your friends have finished."

Ryu glanced back, and saw Goku, his hair golden, eyes turquoise, clothes torn. Gohan looked much older, his hair golden, his eyes turquoise, his clothes torn. Ryu smiled softly at the sight of Gohan aged a bit more. _And he managed to become a Super Saiyan!_

"I should've known, Kakarot. You haven't even been inside for a full day!" Vegeta smirked.

"Yeah, we ran out of food. And, boy, I'm starving!" Goku grinned back. Ryu's face darkened, an awkward smile planting on his face. _He neglected a bit more of training because he was hungry...?_

"Excuses, excuses. I'm still superior to you. I'm still stronger!" Vegeta remarked smugly.

"No, actually, I'm way more stronger than you."

Silence hit the room as Vegeta stared at Goku in utter disbelief, and a smile crept on Goku's face. Piccolo stood up, and walked towards the Room of Time and Space. "I don't care which one of you is the strongest. Cell is still lurking out there, and we need to make sure that _he's_ not the strongest."

Ryu stood up, and walked towards the Room of Time and Space. Gohan sat his hand on his shoulder, and murmured, "Good luck. Get stronger."

Ryu nodded, and both he and Piccolo entered the Room of Time and Space, the door shutting softly behind them. Ryu's eyes widened in surprise as he gazed around himself. He stepped down the steps, and the only thing that he could see was white.

A white, endless void of nothing at all, yet Ryu felt that everything he needed was inside this room. Ryu couldn't see any sign that the white surrounding him ended. He took another step forward, and he hunched forward as he felt the gravity of the place crush onto his back suddenly. Ryu stepped back onto the entrance of the place, seeing multiple refrigerators filled with food, two beds for him and Piccolo, and a bathtub for him to wash in.

"Alright, kid. We're gonna be in here training for a year straight. The first thing we're gonna do is try to get you to transform into a Super Saiyan, but that may be difficult, seeing I'm not a Saiyan. If you have any second thoughts, get out now." Piccolo explained harshly.

"I have no second thoughts."

"Didn't think so. Let's get started."

"Yes, Piccolo-sensei."

The two walked inside the Room of Time and Space, and the harsh training to defeat Cell began.


	14. A New Tournament! The Cell Games Begin!

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: All rights go to their respected owners.

* * *

A day had passed, and Gohan, Goku, and Ryu exited the Hyperbolic Time Chamber. There was a huge surprise for everyone.

" Wait... Gohan's... A girl!? " Chichi said, getting on her knees. Goku was prepared for this.

" Chichi... I want you to know I didn't do any of this. I don't know what happened. But even so, we can still be a great family. We can- " Goku started, but Chichi put her hand up.

" YES! " Chichi squealed, grabbed Gohan's hands. Goku was dumbfounded, and Ryu scratched his cheek nervously.

" Finally, I'm not the only woman in this family! We can do things together that I can do with boys! We can- " Chichi started.

" M-Mom, we don't have time for this... Cell, remember? " Gohan laughed nervously. Chichi nodded.

" Right, right... Quite a bit happened while you were gone. " Chichi said, and Trunks stepped forward, with Vegeta scowling. Trunks explained how the two Saiyans struggled against Cell, and each other. Cell was successful in achieving his perfect form, and he planned on making a tournament. He was going to explain everything on the news channel, and everyone prepared to leave. Bulma came with new armor for Piccolo, Krillin, Tien, and Ryu, since they didn't take the Saiyan armor. It was the same outfit for Piccolo, Krillin, and Tien, just it was stronger. The hottest of flames couldn't burn it, and the sharpest of blades couldn't cut it. Bulma gave Ryu black, tough shoes, loose dark pants, a loose blue shirt with star in the front, and new, stronger fingerless gloves. Everyone put on their new gi, and everyone left to listen to Cell's announcement.

They listened to it, and it explained that in 10 days, warriors or any kind could come to challenge Cell. If they could defeat Cell, he'd leave their planet alone. If not, they'd all die. There would be a ring, and if you fell out, you lose. If you can't continue fighting, you lose. It sounded simple enough.

* * *

 **TEN DAYS LATER**

* * *

An alarm buzzed. Ryu was already awake and smashed it. He didn't know why, but he felt a weird sensation in his heart. It wasn't excitement at all. Ryu looked at his hand, and put his gloves on. He sighed.

 _Why am I feeling this way now, of all times...?_ Ryu asked himself. He shook himself. No! He wouldn't be afraid. They'd show Cell who's boss! Ryu jumped up and punched his fists together. Outside sat Gohan. The two just looked as the sun came up, and Goku said his goodbyes to Chichi. He walked out, and stretched.

" You guys ready? I bet everyone's arriving there now. " Goku said cheerfully. Gohan and Ryu felt confident already. They both nodded.

" Alrighty then, let's go! " Goku said. The three Saiyans blasted off. While they were flying there, they ran into Krillin.

" Hey, guys! A-and girl too. " Krillin said nervously, but cheerfully. Goku gave him a cheerful grin, Gohan smiled and waved, and Ryu saluted.

" If we hurry up, we'll catch up with Trunks and Vegeta. They stormed past me earlier. " Krillin said. Goku nodded and they increased their speed. Soon enough, they found Vegeta and Trunks. Trunks smiled, and Gohan flew near him, the two chatted. Vegeta scowled and tried ignored Goku.

" Hey, guys. " Tien said, coming along with Piccolo.

" Hey. Choazu not with you? " Goku asked. Tien shook his head.

" Vegeta and Trunks couldn't even beat Cell, what makes you think we can? You're our only hope, Goku. " Tien said. Piccolo grumbled, and Vegeta growled. Ryu looked down, and his heart felt like it was going to explode. Just this time, it was with excitement. Soon enough, they landed, Goku and Cell glared at each other. Goku smiled, and Cell grinned.

" Well, looks like I'll be going. " Goku said with a confident smile. " Wish me luck. "

" Destroy that guy. " Gohan said encouragingly.

" Show 'em who's boss. " Ryu said, fistbumping him.

" Kill him or I'll kill you. " Vegeta said lazily.

" Win like you always do! " Krillin said with a smile.

" You're the man. You got this. " Tien said.

" Do it for Gohan. The future one, anyway. " Trunks said.

" Get it done already. " Piccolo said, rolling his eyes.

" Thanks guys. " Goku jumped down, and started walking up the stairs. But he was pushed off, and he jumped back to the Z-Fighters, due to instinct.

" Making way, making way! Here comes your champion, _Herrrrcullllle_! Hey! Get this on tape! " A scrawny man in glasses yelled. Another man with a camera came, and a man walked out of a car and yelled. Out came a woman, and 2 little girls, one with pigtails, the other with blonde hair. The man named Hercule continued to yell, the woman giggled, the pighaired girl rolled her eyes, and the blondie bounced excitedly.

" What the... " The Z-Fighters said in unison. Goku sighed.

" I thought it was some kind of attack. " Goku said, hopping down. The same man that pushed him tried again but, this time Goku didn't move.

" Beat it! The Great Hercule is here to beat Cell! " The scrawny man yelled. Goku shook his head angrily.

" I was here first! I should go first! " Goku yelled, and the two engaged in an argument. The woman grabbed Hercule's arm, flirting, no doubt. Hercule blushed and yelled again.

" What an idiot. " Vegeta said. Gohan squinted and jumped down. She flew over to the girls, and Ryu noticed that Gohan had no sign of coming back. Gohan told Ryu via their minds that it was Videl and Erasa. They used to go to the same school before Videl moved, Erasa following not too long afterwards. This was a short period, since they weren't in public school long. They were very young at the time, yet Gohan remembered.

" Gohan told me she's gonna stay with those brats, protecting them. She seems to be talking with them more than protecting.. " Piccolo said, and Ryu sighed. Hercule was quickly defeated. Goku soon walked up, and he charged up his power, Cell doing the same. Then Goku and Cell stopped. They both took a step, and an there was an explosion, their fists colliding. Goku and Cell engaged in close combat, their punches and kicks connecting. Videl, Erasa, Hercule, the men and the woman all made faces that deeply showed their confusion. Krillin and Tien tried to see, but eventually gave up. Piccolo was able to see just barely, but could hear their movements, which made it easy. Trunks, Ryu, and Vegeta had no trouble at all, their eyes flickering from side to side to side just about every second, if not millisecond. Videl looked around in shock, but Gohan was looking, her eyes moving side to side quickly, and she was just swinging her legs as if it was an everyday activity for her.

" See that crack over there?! They're pulling a magic trick to hide in that crack! " Hercule lied.

" Why is he even here?! " Vegeta said. Ryu sighed again, jumping down.

" Leave. You're a distraction, and you're gonna get yourselves killed. " Ryu said, pushing a camera out of his face.

" Kid, we're professionals. We know what we're doing. Go home to your mom, YOU shouldn't be here! " Hercule said. Ryu glanced at Goku and Cell exchanging blows.

" You should really- " Ryu started. Hercule yelled.

" I'M gonna beat Cell, 'cuz I'm the strongest! See my daughter oner there, the one with the pigtails? SHE could beat you and Cell with her PINKIE! " Hercule growled. Ryu and Hercule started arguing. When Videl looked over when Hercule pointed at her, she saw Ryu. When she saw his hair and eyes were just like Gohan's, she turned to Gohan. Gohan explained to Ryu that Videl saw him, so Ryu came over with them shortly afterwards.

" Hey guys, this is Ryu. He came a little late. " Gohan lied. She seemed to want to keep these two as friends for some reason. Erasa eyed Ryu and blushed, Videl eyed him and shook her head.

" You guys really changed, huh? Well, long time no see, Ryu. " Videl said.

" H-Hi. " Erasa stammered. Ryu didn't say anything to them, but explained to Piccolo that he'd be the one to actually protect the humans.

Goku and Cell still exchanging blows and they were smiling. Goku flew up and tried to punch him, but Cell performed the afterimage, and tried to kick him. Goku copied Cell, and tried to punch him again. This cycle went on for a while. Erasa seemed to... Find an attraction Ryu, as she was a boy-crazy girl. She tried to be seducive, but it ended up distracting Ryu from the fight. He could tell that someone was losing energy.

 _Is it Cell that's weakening… Or is it Dad…?_ Ryu thought. He focused his energy on the weaker one, but was interrupted by Erasa again. Ryu gave her a stern glare to let her know he was busy. Videl saw Ryu's irritation, and pulled Erasa away from him. He looked over and saw Goku punching Cell, who was blocking, but was slowly being pushed back. When Cell was at the edge, Goku kicked him, making him fall. Trunks, Krillin, Tien, and Gohan shirked with triumph, but that changed to sadness and irritation when Cell flew back up in front of Goku with a smirk.

" Oh, Goku, Goku, Goku. Did you really think it would be that easy? " Cell said.

" Not at all. " Goku said. Cell flew up in the air.

" Oh, Goku! Better tell your friends to move. I think I'll add another rule in… " Cell said, creating an energy blast.

" _**EVERYONE! MOVE AWAY FROM THE RING! MOVE, MOVE, MOOOVE!**_ " Goku screamed at the top of his lungs.

" Ah! " Videl shrieked. Ryu started floating, and looked at Gohan. Gohan grabbed Erasa and Videl, and took them away to safety. Ryu got out of his SSJ form, his hair fell down into a spiky hairdo. His pupils looked like a dragon's pupil, and his fingernails looked like claws. Cell shot his energy blast. The Z-Fighters moved away. Ryu jumped in front of Hercule and the others and put his right hand in front of him. A seal looking circle popped up in front of Ryu's hand, and a Dragon's face was inside the circle, and a huge red energy shield popped up. It started disappearing, but it lasted long enough to protect Ryu and the others. The smoke cleared, and the ring was destroyed. Ryu fell, falling out of his new form, into his regular form. Hercule lied once more, and the woman grabbed his arm and kissed his cheek, making him blush.

" How can you guys fly!? Holy shit… " Erasa shrieked. Videl knew Erasa was scared, she rarely cursed.

" Hey, are you alright? " Gohan asked. Erasa looked at her, her hair a mess.

" _NO!_ " She screamed. She looked at her arm, and it had a small cut, and she wasn't even bleeding, but she cried anyway. Ryu stood up, his eyes widened.

" H-Hey, Gohan… " Ryu said. Gohan looked over at Goku, and the two saw that Goku was charging an attack strong enough to destroy the entire planet, and he was at a position where it was.

" _DAD, STOP! YOU'LL DESTROY CELL, BUT THE PLANET, TOO!_ " Ryu screamed. Goku ignored him.

 _Does he have a plan, or is he just plain stupid?!_ Ryu thought. Goku teleported right in front of Cell, and Cell's eyes widened.

" _Nnnnnnnn **NNNNNOOOOOOOOOOO!**_ " Cell screamed. Goku thrusted his hands forward, a huge blue blast being released with a strong force.

" _**HAAAAAAAA!**_ " Goku screamed, blowing Cell's upper body to bits. Smoke went everywhere and Hercule and the others went flying. When the smoke finally cleared, they saw Cell's lower body, and Goku instantly knew he messed up. He panted, trying to get his stamina back, but Cell was already regenerating, and before Goku could say, " Kamehameha " again, Cell was back.

" My, my. That caught me off guard. What d'you call that, Kamehameha Transmission? " Cell smirked. Goku grinned, even though he was out of breath.

" I actually call it… Instant Kamehameha… " Goku said tiredly. Cell smirked.

" Well, any last words? " Cell said, preparing to kill Goku.

" Yeah... I give up. " Goku said with a smile. Perfect Cell, for once, didn't smile.

" I beg your pardon?! " Cell said confusingly. Goku smirked.

" I give up. I concede defeat. I yield. Got it? This is a tournament, and I can give up. That's what I just did. " Goku said. Cell fumed with anger.

" No, no, _NO!_ You cannot give up, my boredom needs to be quenched! It will not be satisfied! " Cell screamed.

" Don't worry, there's a warrior who'll beat you. " Goku grinned. Cell thought about this.

" I fought everyone, minus Tien, he beat me up and I didn't touch him. Minus Gohan and Ryu. Those brats have a chance together... OK, bring the brats to me! " Cell exclaimed. Goku grinned.

" I think you mean brat. You're gonna be fighting Gohan, and Gohan alone. " Goku yelled. Everyone was shocked. Erasa and Videl looked at Gohan in terror, the poor girl was going to get ripped to shreds! Gohan and Ryu flew up to Goku to tell him how bad a choice that was.

" Hey, Gohan. Your old man lost the fight, but I believe in you. Did you have any trouble at all when watching me? " Goku said. Gohan stammered.

" I didn't... B-but, you were just holding back! " Gohan said timidly. Goku chuckled.

" No, you were just comparing my power to yours. You think of me as the strongest, but that's you! I dunno about Cell, but I was giving my all out there. Start looking at me like #2, 'cuz your #1. " Goku beamed with pride. Gohan looked down.

" O-Okay, I'll try. Just for you, though, Dad! " Gohan exclaimed confidently. Goku grinned.

" Atta girl. " Goku smiled. Ryu shook his head.

" Dad, that was a sweet talk, and I believe in Gohan, but, come on! We have to be realistic here... I saw her power in the HBTC. But what if Cell kills her before she can even show her power? " Ryu reasoned. Goku grinned.

" She'll win, just watch. " Goku said. He flew up to Krillin and asked for a senzu bean. Krillin, thinking he was going to eat it, gave it to him. Goku threw it at Cell. Everyone, minus Hercule, Videl and Erasa, panicked.

" That's a magical bean that heals you and can make you full for a whole 10 days. " Goku said, grinning. Ryu flew up to Goku and tried punching him. Goku caught his fist.

" Now, now- " Goku started. Ryu pulled his fist back.

" Are you TRYING to kill Gohan?! " Ryu yelled. Goku shook his head.

" She's actually doing it?! " Vegeta said, shocked. Gohan had walked up to the healed Cell, and started powering up. Videl and Erasa tried to to convince her to stay but couldn't. They walked over to Hercule and the others with him. Gohan finished charging up her power.

" Her power… It exceeds mine, even Kakarot's! " Vegeta exclaimed. Goku grinned.

 _There's plenty more where that came from, that's for sure._ Goku thought with pride as he watched with the Z-Fighters. Ryu growled but stayed with the gang. And Gohan prepared herself for the greatest fight of her life.


	15. A New Warrioress! Gohan's Awakening!

Disclaimer: All rights go to their respected owners.

* * *

Gohan was pretty skilled in fighting, she was able to block or jump out of the way while Cell was on his killer rush. Gohan jumped up, and landed a kick to Cell's face, and he landed on the ground. He rubbed his cheek, and even felt blood dripping down his nose. He smirked and looked at Gohan, who was standing there, giving him a look as if she already won.

" Just because you landed a good blow on me doesn't mean shit, brat. If a kick could defeat me, I'd already be dead! " Cell scowled, and charged at Gohan once more.

Gohan shot a small Masenko at the ground, and flew upwards. Cell disappeared, reappeared right above Gohan, and kicked her back. Gohan yelled in pain and was sent flying. Cell teleported behind her again and elbowed her side. He continued to kick her around, and mashed his clamped hands into her back, and that sent her crashing down onto the ground. Cell stopped in front of Gohan.

" You're not trying. Why? " Cell growled.

" I trained with my dad, yes. I'm stronger than him now, yes. But I don't like fighting. I don't like seeing the pain on my opponent' face, and I don't like feeling pain either. I can't let you destroy my friends and family any longer, though. I have this power inside of me, that's always ready to explode once I've been pushed to a certain level. I don't want to kill you Cell, I don't- " Gohan frowned.

" You?! Beat ME?! You couldn't even keep me on the ground for longer than half a minute! What makes YOU think you can defeat ME!? " Cell howled with laughter.

" I'm serious! There's a power inside me that I'm afraid of releasing, because I might not be able to control it! If I keep fighting you, Cell, I WILL destroy you, and I may destroy other people! I'll feel only malice, and I'll see only you. " Gohan explained.

" Seems Goku may not have been bluffing after all... Very well. So, anger was the supreme cause of the transformation, right? " Cell smirked.

" Cell, if you make me unleash my power, I may not be the same way I am now! " Gohan said, trying to reason with the monster.

" That's exactly what I want! I don't want this weak, puny girl fighting me! I want a strong, confident woman to fight! " Cell grinned, and quicker than anyone could see, he grabbed her in a bear hug, and began crushing her.

" Don't scream in pain, scream in power! Turn this pain into power, be mad that I'm hurting you! " Cell said. Gohan looked down at Cell with anger in her eyes, then she forced herself to look pitiful. Cell gave up, dropped her on the ground, and sat his foot on Gohan's head.

" You'd better get mad, brat, because if you don't, I'll kill you! " Cell threatened, crushing her head. She let out a cry, and it transformed into a weakened whimper. Cell growled in frustration, and he kicked her away, sending her falling onto a rock. Cell walked over to her, pointing his finger at her.

" Such a shame... You could've been really fun. All you have to do was stop being such a coward. " Cell sighed. Ryu grit his teeth, and clamped his hands together, sticking only his index and middle finger up. He close his eyes, but snapped them open once more when he heard Cell cry. 16 held Cell in a bear hug.

" 16! Unhand me this instant! " Cell barked.

" I cannot do that until you die. I have a bomb inside me that I will detonate, so you can die along with me. " 16 said confidently.

" You... You wouldn't dare harm me!" Cell said fearfully. 16 started glowing, and the Z-Fighters covered their faces in a bad attempt to protect themselves from 16's attack, and Gohan jumped away. In the end, 16 stopped glowing, and nothing happened.

" It's... It's gone! It's not there! " 16 panicked. Cell grinned, and shot him in the chest, destroying his entire body, minus his head. Cell pointed his finger at 16's head to kill him, but Gohan kicked him away before any further damage was done.

" Don't hurt him! " She screamed. Cell Looked at her.

" Ahh... You don't like seeing people die, hmm? " Cell grinned, and quickly gave birth to multiple Cell children.

" Now, my children. Let's play a game. See those people up there, with the strong energy? Yes, you will fight them. You will _kill_ them. When you kill them all, you can help me kill Gohan! Now, go my children, kill them all! " Cell instructed, and the Cell children headed straight for the Z-Fighters. Ryu sat Videl and Erasa with Hercule, and he tried to fly off, with Videl and Erasa begging him to stay. They didn't want him to fight, but he left anyways, and he did the same hand sign he did earlier.

" Wha- W-wait! " Krillin shrieked.

" Looks like us time for us to fight! " Tien growled.

" Hmph! There's no way I'm losing to a mini Cell! " Vegeta said confidently.

" Don't let your guard down, guys! We don't know what these things will do. " Trunks said, getting in a stance.

" It's been a little while since I fought. I could sure use this as a good stretch! " Piccolo said, throwing off his heavy gi.

" I've been waiting to test this out. " Ryu said, and closed his eyes. When he opened them, his eyes were yin-yangs. He got in a fighting stance as well.

" Damn it! I'll have to finish this quickly! " Goku said, getting in a fighting stance.

The Cell Juniors came up, and it soon became a bloody tournament.

Krillin and Tien were getting tossed around, and eventually, Ryu came in and helped. He spun around and SledgeHammered a Cell jr. and kicked it away. He was put in a full nelson by a Cell jr., and another Cell jr. came and tried to punch his stomach, but Ryu broke out of the full-nelson, and the Cell jr. punched the other Cell jr. in the stomach, making him cough. Ryu then dropkicked both of them away, and jumped up to continue fighting.

" Ryu's really grown strong… " Krillin said proudly. Tien charged up his ki.

" Then we can't be weak while he's protecting us! Let's go! " Tien said, charging at a Cell jr. that was dashing at Ryu. When Ryu noticed, it was too late, but Tien shouldered the Cell jr. out of the way. He gave Ryu a thumbs up, and Ryu returned one to him.

Vegeta and Trunks were surrounded by 3 Cell jrs., and Goku came and head butted one of them, then sent it flying towards Trunks with a strong elbow to the stomach. He engaged in a clash of punches and kicks with one of the Cell Juniors and the other one came in to help. Trunks threw the Cell jr. that was sent towards him back towards the 3 Cell jrs., and he charged energy in his hands.

" FINISH BUSTER! " Trunks shouted, and threw it at the Cell jrs.. Goku used the Instant Transmission to get away from the Cell jrs., appeared next to Trunks, and charged up energy in his cupped hands.

" _KAMEHAMEHA!_ " Goku shouted, and shot a Kamehameha blast instead of a beam. The 2 blasts combined into one, and shot the 2 Cell Juniors away. Vegeta charged up a Final Flash, and shot it at a Cell jr. but it was deflected back at him, and he dodged it.

Then all of a sudden, there was a ear-piercing cry. And it was coming from Gohan.

A GIGANTIC energy level was coming straight from Gohan, and her hair was spikier, her eyes filled with no more kindness, only anger and guilt. And under Cell's foot was a couple of robotic pieces. Ryu frowned.

 _16... His death... Wasn't in vain, though. That power I saw from Gohan... This is it, huh?_ Ryu thought.

" Heh… What'd I tell you? This is Gohan's power. The TRUE ascension of Super Saiyan… " Goku explained, then he grinned.

 **" Super Saiyan 2. "**


	16. Super Saiyan 2! Gohan's Strength!

Disclaimer: All rights go to their respected owners.

* * *

" So, this is the power you were afraid to show me...? It doesn't seem like much. I hope you don't embarrass you and your father. That'd be a sh- " Cell started.

" Can it. " Gohan said blankly.

" Huh!? Oh... I see... A cheeky one, hmm? " Cell grinned. Gohan rolled her eyes.

" I said can it. " Gohan repeated.

" You think just because you got a small power boost you're better than me?! I'll destroy you! " Cell shouted, a scowl forming on his lips. Gohan darted her glare to the Cell Juniors, and they started their rampage once more.

A Cell Jr. kicked Krillin down onto the dirt, and one was choking Tien. Next to them, Piccolo was kicked to the ground, and 3 Cell Juniors were ganging up on Goku. Goku kicked one away, and another one elbowed his head. He threw a Cell jr. at another one, but another Cell jr. kneed his back, and he let out a painful scream.

Ryu charged, and he SledgeHammered a Cell Jr. near Goku, kneed his stomach, then used the heel of his right foot and mashed it into his face. 2 more Cell Juniors came, but were blown away by a familiar purple blast. Vegeta, Trunks, Goku, and Ryu huddled close, they got in fighting stances, their backs touching.

" Tch. Annoying little brats. I'll destroy ever last one of you if it means I'll get to live to fight Kakarot! Don't you die, Kakarot! I'll be killing you myself! " Vegeta exclaimed. Trunks narrowed his eyes.

" Let's help Goku out, he's the one needing it most. Well, Krillin and Tien too. They're only human. " Trunks said. Ryu glanced at him.

" Piccolo-sensei are helping Krillin and Tien out, so let's focus on Dad. " Ryu said, glancing back at Goku.

iccolo grabbed a Cell jr. and threw it into another one, and Tien blew them away with a strong Tri-Beam. Krillin focused his energy in a familiar stance. He mashed his hands together in a horizontal Kamehameha stance.

" _Kaku..._ " Krillin started. A yellow beam was released, and Krillin lifted his hands in the air.

" _Sandan!_ " Krillin yelled. He bent over and dropped his arms, his fingers spread apart. The beam was divided into 7 blasts, and it hit all of the Cell Juniors. Smoke covered the place, and the Z-Fighters grouped together. The Cell Juniors flew out of the dust smirking and snickering, unfazed.

" Well, crap. " Krillin said, nervously smiling.

" These bastards won't die... And they're only a part of Cell's strength. Unbelievable! " Tien scowled. The Cell Juniors charged, but Gohan teleported in front of all of them. She extended her arms upward, her palms facing the sky, and she screamed, multiple energy beams attacking the Cell Juniors. They damaged them, and the Cell children screamed in agony. Gohan took a step, and a Cell jr. went flying.

" I… I couldn't… I couldn't see it... I couldn't see anything! " Ryu said, shocked. The Cell Juniors charged, and Gohan was ready.

Gohan used the side of her foot to kick on Cell Junior's foot, causing him to go off balance, then uppercut him in half. She jumped and kicked a Cell jr. in the face, then punched a whole in it's stomach, and blasted it into oblivion. Two came, and Gohan shot two energy blasts and the ground, smoke covering their eyesight. She popped up out of nowhere and cut on in half with her bare hands, and broke the other one's neck with a sharp elbow. Their bodies poofed away into purple smoke, and Cell winced painfully.

Another Cell jr. came, and Gohan spun around, kicking it's head off with the heel of her left foot. A Cell Junior punched Gohan, but she let him. She brought her left foot back, dug it in the ground, and front-kicked the Cell jr. in half. She charged and grabbed a Cell Junior by the foot and threw it into another one, destroying them both in a blast. The last Cell jr. tried to flee back to Cell, but Gohan teleported in front of him, and kicked it away, then she dashed through it, and it cracked in half, poofing away.

" You dare destroy my creations!? " Cel fumed with anger and pain.

" You didn't come and stop me. " Gohan said, glaring at Cell.

" Very well, then. You've grown stronger, but let's see just HOW strong! " Cell smirked, and charged at Gohan.

Cell tried to knee her in the stomach, but she grabbed his knee. She let go, and Cell tried to kick her head, but she used her right arm to block the side of her head. They engaged in close combat, their fists mashing against each other. Cell tried to bear hug her again, but Gohan jumped upwards and kicked his face upwards, then she punched his stomach faster than anyone could see, and bicycle kicked him downwards. Cell gasped and gagged, and Gohan smiled triumphantly.

" You little… Stupid brat! You can't defeat me! I'm the strongest! " Cell yelled confidently.

" Then get up. " Gohan said. Cell growled, and jumped at her once more.

Cell threw a punch, but Gohan bent backwards, dodging it. Cell front flipped and tried to use his right foot's heel to hit her, but Gohan blocked the top of her head. He tried to punch her, but before he could, Gohan threw a punch in his gut, that smashed his insides. He coughed up blood, and saliva dripped from his chin. He looked like he was going to throw up, and Gohan waited. Then, soon enough, Cell coughed 18 out of his body, somehow. Krillin gasped.

" Android 18! " Krillin screamed. Ryu's eyes widened.

" Wait a second… If Cell coughed up 18, and he needed both 17 and 18 to be in his perfect state, does that mean- " Ryu started. Cell screamed, and he started glowing, and soon enough, he was back in his Semi-Perfect form.

" Yes! YES! We won! I know it! " Krillin yelled with glee.

" Don't assume it's over, yet. Cell's a tricky bastard, that's for certain. " Piccolo growled anxiously. Krillin shut up, and they watched as Gohan beat Cell around, but she didn't finish him.

" GOHAN! What're you waiting for!? You have the power to defeat Cell, so defeat him! Stop playing around! " Goku ordered, but Gohan glared at him defyingly.

" No. All the people he's murdered mercilessly... All the people who were incapable of fighting back... This is their revenge. This is _my_ revenge. You had your chance to defeat him, but you messed up. Now, this is my fight. Now I'm going to watch him suffer. I'm going to watch him _DIE!_ " Gohan said, and Cell's face scrunched up in fear. He screamed fearfully, and his head started growing bigger, and so was his body. He kept growing until he was a big, fat, green monster, and he smirked.

" You may have won the battle, but I won the war! In a few seconds, I will blow up, destroying you and this planet! So say buh-bye Gohan, buh-bye Goku and buh-bye Earth! " Cell laughed confidently. Gohan's eyes widened in fear and shock, then they were angry once more.

" Then I'll blow you into dust! " Gohan growled, getting in Ryu's fighting stance for whatever reason.

" Ah, ah, ah! If I get hurt too much, I may blow early! So go ahead, do your worst! I'll destroy myself, but if I can destroy Goku and you, I'll gladly do it! " Cell grinned. Gohan's eyes looked like her younger self when fighting someone: timid and shy.

" N-No… I lost… I could've beaten him…! I was too stupid to get the message! Not only will I die, Earth and my friends have to pay the price…! Damn it! " Gohan muttered pitifully, and she fell on her hands and knees.

" What's wrong!? Go ahead, punch me, kick me, blow me away! Do your worst! " Cell boomed with laughter.

" W… What're we gonna do?! " Krillin panicked.

" Cell's really done it…! " Trunks grit his teeth.

" And this time… There's absolutely nothing we can do…! " Piccolo said. Vegeta instantly thought of Bulma and Trunks.

" N-No! There has to be a way! This can't be it! Not yet! " Vegeta said angrily. Ryu clenched his fists.

" I agree with Vegeta, there's gotta be a way! Come on guys, think, don't lose hope just yet! The fight isn't over until we're all dead!" Ryu shouted encouragingly, but no one believed in that.

" We ARE dead! " Tien barked angrily, and Piccolo glared at him. Ryu shook his fists angrily, and his eyes started shining in a bright white color, but it stopped when Goku looked back at everyone. Everyone looked back at him back. And they all saw something they didn't wants to see.

They saw his warm, safe smile. Ryu, Trunks and Piccolo knew instantly.

" Guys- " Goku started.

" No- _**NO!**_ You're not doing that! " Ryu shouted. Goku wrapped him in a nice hug/

" You're an amazing son. You've grown into a strong warrior, and I'm sure that you'll help defend the Earth from now on. Make sure you keep your sister and your mom safe. And your brother. " Goku said. Everyone was shocked, minus Krillin.

" You're having another baby?! " Tien and Trunks asked in unison. Goku nodded.

" Goodbye, my friends. Goodbye, my son. I love you. " Goku said with a smile.

" Dad- " Ryu started.

" Goku! " Krillin screamed.

And then, in an instant, he was over with Cell. Gohan looked up in shock, Cell looked down in fear, and Goku smiled back at Gohan.

" Hey, champ! You had a great fight. Who knew you'd become my greatest rival? " Goku grinned. When Gohan looked at his hands on his forehead, her eyes filled with tears.

" Dad, stop. This is my fault, you don't have to- " Gohan started. Goku went over to her, and pulled her in a warm hug.

" I love you, Gohan. " Goku said softly. Gohan cried, and hugged him back.

" I love you too, Dad... But, wait- " Gohan started. Goku put his palm on Cell, and he smiled at her.

Then, in an instant, he was gone.

" DADDY! " Gohan kept screaming. The Z-Fighters flew down. Ryu walked over to her, and she squeezed him in a hug, crying on his shoulder. Her hair turned black, and her eyes did too. She looked up at everyone.

" I'm sorry. " She whispered. Krillin rubbed her head. Piccolo and Tien stood next to her, Trunks and Vegeta stood behind her, and Ryu stilled hugged her.

" Come on, let's go home. " Ryu said sadly. Gohan and Ryu stood up, and they were about to fly off.

But, all of a sudden, a beam came, and Trunks fell on the floor. Dead. Vegeta was shocked. Everyone knew instantly was happened. They didn't know how, but…

" Now, THIS is perfection… " Cell smirked.


	17. The End of the Beginning

At long last, we've come to the final chapter of Ryu's prequel. Well, let's go on and finish this. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: All rights go to their respected owners.

* * *

" Y... You... You bastard! " Tien screamed staring at Trunks' corpse. Vegeta didn't move. He didn't blink. He didn't make any sound or movement; you'd think he was dead too. Gohan transformed back into SSJ2.

" My... Son... " Vegeta muttered, and he screamed, transformed into a SSJ, and his power kept growing, even surpassing Gohan.

Vegeta charged at Cell. Cell stumbled backwards in fear, and Vegeta threw punches and kicks at Cell, he threw everything he had. Cell tried to fight back, to defend himself, to even beg for mercy. Vegeta kicked him up in the air, and Cell went soaring upwards. Vegeta kicked him up higher him, floated down to the ground, and a bright purple ball formed in his hands.

" _This is Trunks! THIS IS FOR **MY SON!**_ " Vegeta growled, the purple ball getting bigger and bigger, and when he met his limit, he was still going.

 _ **" SUPER, GALICK, GUN! "**_ Vegeta screamed, a huge purple beam following Cell, and destroying him. Smoke went everywhere, and Vegeta panted. Gohan ran up to him, and held him from falling over.

" Th-thank you.. " Vegeta said, and Gohan was shocked. And a huge energy blast was heading straight for them. Gohan jumped out of the way, and Cell snickered.

" Oh, come ON! Did you think you would surpass this amazing power just like that?! It's going to to more than just TWO Super Saiyans to beat me! " Cell laughed. Vegeta smirked, and Cell stopped laughing.

" Just two? Oh, no, there's _three._ " Vegeta smirked, and made Gohan release him.

" Three?! Are you so scared that your vision is messed up?! There's-" Cell started. Then Ryu exploded. The area bathed in golden energy, and his eyes glared in anger. His eyes eased, no longer angry.

And the three Saiyans towered above Cell.

* * *

Cell was dropkicked to the ground by Ryu, but did a handstand and stood back up again. Vegeta kicked his back, and harshly front kicked his stomach, sending him flying. Gohan teleported behind him, and punched him several times, finishing with a kick over to Ryu. Cell regained his balance and stood up, but Ryu was ready. He used the side of his left foot to kick his right foot, and he starting falling over to his left, Ryu spun around, and used his right hand's knuckle and bashed it into the back of Cell's head. Cell screamed in agony, and he crashed into mountains. Cell jumped out of the rubble.

" ENOUGH. _IS. **ENOUGH!**_ I'LL BLOW YOU ALL AWAY, AND YOUR STUPID PLANET WITH YOU! " Cell laughed manically, and faster than anyone could see, even the Saiyans, he shot a beam towards Krillin. Gohan jumped in the way, her left arm being severely damaged. She winced and Ryu teleported over to her.

" Are you OK?! That monster...! " Ryu growled, then Vegeta screamed. Ryu glanced over and saw that Vegeta was facing Gohan, most likely because he was worried about her. In that split second, Cell ran over to him and kicked him harshly in the back. Vegeta rolled on the ground, and Ryu teleported over to where he was heading, and grabbed him. He teleported back, and found out Vegeta wasn't really hurt, just exhausted.

" I poured all of my energy.. Into that... Attack...! " Vegeta said, and collapsed from lack of energy. They were down to just 2 SSJ2s, and Gohan only had an arm left. Cell resumed charging up his attack, and Ryu sat Vegeta down near the Z-Fighters.

At times like these, his Dad being there was very handy. He'd show everyone no matter what, they had to believe and do what was right. Ryu stood up, and he sighed, and he charged up his Saiyan power, a golden aura forming around him. Just then, Gohan stood up, and did the same. They had both heard the same voice. Their dad was right beside them. Gohan put her hand back, and Ryu put his hand on hers.

" KA... ME... HA... ME... " Cell, Ryu and Gohan said in unison.

" _ **HAAAA!**_ " Cell screamed, a big, blue blast coming straight for Gohan and Ryu. Ryu looked over at her and smiled softly. Gohan smiled, and they both looked at Cell, and charged their energies, their ki becoming one.

" _ **HAAAA!**_ " They both shouted, an even bigger blast coming straight for Cell. Cell screamed louder, then his power was the same as theirs, then it was threatening to swallow them and their blast.

" No, no... Why? H-How?! " Ryu growled. Gohan was shaking, but she stood her ground. A green blur passed them.

" LEAVE THEM ALONE! **MASENKO, _HAAAA!_** " Piccolo roared, throwing a big yellow blast at Cell. Cell grinned, and charged up his energy, his ki destroying Piccolo's blast, and throwing Piccolo back. Krillin and Tien came flying down to Cell. They charged their ki, and prepared an attack.

" _**KAMEHAMEHA!**_ " Krillin screamed.

" _**DODONPA!**_ " Tien screamed. The 2 blasts collided, but Cell did the same thing to them as he did to Piccolo. Gohan and Ryu were about to be swallowed by Cell's blast, when a miracle happened.

" _**BIG BANG ATTACK!**_ " Vegeta screamed. The blast fell down and Cell looked up, he was hit by the blast.

" _Vegeta!_ You'll pay for- " Cell started, when he heard Gohan and Ryu scream. He looked over fearfully.

" For... A split second.. I forgot about.. My opponents.. " Cell said, realizing his fatal mistake. He was swallowed by the blue blast, and he started melting, all of his Cells being destroyed this time.

" But... _But..!_ _BUT, I'M **PERFEEECT!**_ " Cell screamed, and he was destroyed. For good, and forever. And finally...

After so long...

Peace...

And the sun shone out of the clouds.

" _WE DID IT!_ " Krillin screamed, tears falling down his cheeks. Tien smiled down at Ryu and Gohan proudly, and Piccolo did the same. Gohan went out of SSJ2 and fell on the ground, sitting in a W position. Ryu's legs shivered, and his entire face darkened. He lifted his head, and a huge, toothy grin planted on his face, and he collapsed.

* * *

Ryu had woke up from his nap, and he saw everyone around him. Vegeta, Baby Trunks, Dende, The Ox King, Tien, Piccolo, and even Yamcha was there. Chichi, Bulma, and Gohan walked out shortly afterwards, with Gohan wearing clothes similar to Chichi's.

" Hey, Gohan's here! Let's get some wishes! " Piccolo said. Ryu jumped onto his feet, and walked over to the Dragon Balls with everyone else. Dende ran over, and he nodded, and everyone else did too. He spoke in the Namekian language, and out came Shenron.

" **YOU HAVE AWOKEN ME FROM MY SLUMBER. YOU HAVE 3 WISHES, STATE THEM AND BE DONE.** " Shenron ordered. Everyone was speechless, just as they normally were when Shenron came.

" First wish: Bring back Trunks! Bring back my son! " Vegeta yelled, and Bulma hugged his arm adoringly. Shenron's eyes glowed, and they returned to normal. Trunks coughed, and he jumped up. He looked around, confusion planted on his face. Gohan ran over to him and hugged him, and Trunks hugged her back awkwardly, then ate a senzu bean given to him by Krillin, the hole in his chest disappearing.

" Second wish: Bring back Goku! " Chichi shouted quickly.. Shenron's eyes glowed, and then returned to normal.

" **THAT WISH.. CANNOT BE GRANTED** _._ " Shenron stated.

" _Why?!_ " Ryu screamed.

" **GOKU REFUSES TO BE REVIVED.** " Shenron said

" I knew I put in being able to be resurrected multiple times.. " Dende sighed.

" Hey guys! I've been thinking, and it's best if I stay dead. Dangerous people come to Earth and hunt me down to kill me, and kill innocent people along the way. Think about: Raditz came for me. Frieza came BACK to kill me. The Androids and Cell came for me. I think being there is a major factor of many people dying, and I just want peace. I'll still be here, whenever you wanna visit me, just go to Ryu! I bet he'll get better at the Instant Transmission. " Goku explained. Everyone was unhappy about this decision, especially Goku's family, but they understood.

" Dad... I'm sorry... This is all- " Gohan started.

" Hey, champ, it's not your fault. If I had stepped in sooner none of this would've happened! I was too confident. But, you'll grow into a strong woman- " Goku started. Chichi clicked her tongue.

" _SMART_ woman, you mean. Now that you're gone, there's no one to stop me from getting my way! Plus, this baby inside of me isn't going to be anything like you, not a chance! " Chichi scolded Goku, and even dead Goku was afraid.

" Welp, I should be going, guys. If you ever wanna talk to me, I'll be right here! See you guys! " Goku said cheerfully, and he left.

" Even a goodbye isn't sad when Dad's there. " Ryu said, smiling softly. Krillin grinned.

" Of course, Goku's been like that ever since I met him. A nice caring guy. " Krillin said, remembering when they first met.

" And don't let that kindess fool you, he'll beat you into a pulp with the same damn smile. " Tien smirked, remembering when he fought against Goku.

" A guy who even shows mercy to his enemies. He's always going to grow, but that pure inner child inside of him won't. " Piccolo said, remembering when Goku had defeated him.

" Alright, Shenron, we also want you to wish back everyone Cell had killed. Please! " Gohan asked. Shenron's eyes glowed, then they returned to normal.

" **THAT WISH HAS BEEN GRANTED. WHAT IS YOUR FINAL WISH?** " Shenron said.

" I honestly have no clue.. " Ryu mumbled.

" E... E-Excuse me, Shenron! I have a wish. Do you think that you can return Android 17 and 18 back into humans? " Krillin asked, shocking everyone. Android 18, who was hiding behind a pillar, quietly gasped. Shenron's eyes glowed red, and they returned to normal.

" **THAT WISH... CANNOT BE GRANTED** _. "_ Shenron said.

" Well, can you remove the bombs from their body? " Krillin asked, shocking everyone again. Shenron's eyes glowed red, then returned to normal.

" **THAT WISH HAS BEEN GRANTED. I HAVE GRANTED ALL YOUR WISHES, NOW... FARE THEE WELL...** _"_ Shenron said, then left, and the dragon balls scattered away, somewhere on the Earth. Then Android 18 jumped out after she heard everyone talking about Krillin's wish.

" H-Hey! 17 is my _brother,_ not my boyfriend, dumbasses! " 18 shouted. Ryu quickly powered up.

" W-Wait! There's no need to fight, Cell's gone, you can live as a human now! We don't need to be enemies. " Krillin said. Ryu stopped powering up, but he kept his guard up.

" A-And I didn't ask for you to wish that! It was a waste of a wish, and if you think I'll fall head over heels because of your " charming wish " you're dead wrong, buddy! " Android 18 said. Krillin bowed his head, and Ryu patted his back.

" B-But it was nice... " Android 18 said quietly, and Krillin heard, perking up his head.

" Y-y'mean it? " Krillin asked excitedly. She nodded.

" W-Why don't you join us? Y'know, the Z-Fighters. We could use a female warrior! " Krillin said awkwardly. 18 shook her head.

" No thanks. I prefer being alone. " 18 said, and flew off. Tien and Ryu were trying to cheer Krillin up, and Gohan grinned.

" Well, what're we waiting for!? This is the beginning of the rest of our lives! " Gohan shrieked with joy. She picked up Chichi, and they flew back to their house. Piccolo decided he'd stay with Dende and Mr. Popo. Vegeta, Trunks, and Bulma went to their home, and Ryu followed Gohan.

And this is the end. Well, the end of the beginning.

The real beginning begins.

* * *

A/N:

 **Wow, you've actually finished this. You must like this. If you do, check out the other Infinite Lives fanfics, this was only the prequel! I have the order on my profile. Thanks for reading, and I'll catch you later!**


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